Crooked letter, Crooked letter: Scary Larry

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that Larry is not wanted. "He stood, waiting to be noticed, congratulated on his performance, maybe, welcomed by the group, given a beer." "We all just kind of pretended not to see him. All of us." The two passages are from the point of view of Silas. He expresses that he and his friends did not like Larry as much. So, he uses 'we' and 'us'. The first sentence would be enough to express what Silas wants to say. To stress, that really nobody likes Larry, Silas uses the phrase 'all of us'. The next point where I see the loneliness of Larry is in the relationship between Larry and his father. His father always tells him to this or that. He was never proud of his son. The relationship between those two reminded me of the father- son relation in Martyn Pig between Martin and his father Willyam. The difference is that in Crooked letter, Crooked letter Larry is not able to do anything against his father - like raising his voice or something like that. "Sometimes it's not the people who change, it's the mask that falls off." Haruki Murakami The changes of an unseen boy to a possible kidnaper, rapist, or murderer?! When you continue reading the book, we get to know him better. In this graphic this can be seen in the rising action. His life finally starts to become more interesting when he makes a date with a girl - Cindy Walker. No one has expected Larry going out with a girl, neither his friends nor his family - especially his father. For us as readership his life gets more interesting, we want to know what happens next. Will the two of them end up dating? I think this scene where Larry tells everyone, that he is going out with Cindy, and later when he finally picks her up, is the dramatic highlight or climax in his life. He reached something; he is the one taking Cindy to the drive-in movie. I see it as a little success in his life, because his father is proud of him; and his classmates might even be a little jealous of him. "Hell, he said, I'll even pay. He produced his wallet and drew a twenty-dollar bill. He could have slid a thousand-dollar bill and Larry wouldn't have been more surprised." I think the last sentence shows us, how the positions are in this family. Carl, the father, is superior to Larry his son. This surprised reaction of Larry's show that Carl has not done anything like this before. So, there is a little change in the relationship between Carl and Larry. "Horse shit, Ken hissed to the back of his head. She wouldn't go out with you." This shows us one reaction of a classmate of Larry. I think with the expression "horse shit" he makes clear that he cannot believe what is just happening - Larry, the shy, strange, books reading, guy is going out with a girl. With the "you" Ken, the classmate, stresses his surprise. In this "you" I think there is also a bit of jealousy - Ken might want to go out with Cindy, too, but there was never the chance for him. However, when Cindy tells Larry that she didn't agree to go out with him because she really wanted to, but just to see her secret boyfriend, the falling action starts. Surely it is a big disappointment for Larry. That's why I think his life is supposed not end well. This can be seen that from the point on where Cindy "was missing" Larry was the one, who was made responsible for her missing. There is no evidence that he is innocent. He was the last one who had seen her, so he must be guilty of her disappearance. The mistrust starts to grow. "The weeks stretching into months, and when even the most fervent optimists were beginning to doubt, she'd run away. Larry spent his hours in his room, reading." I think his home is the only place where he can go without being judged. He needs some space for being alone. In his own little world, the time nearly stands still and there is no change in sight - neither for him nor his family. "Their lives had stopped, frozen, as if in a picture, and the days were nothing more than empty squares on a calendar." "He was transferred to Jackson, Mississippi, this new part of his life seeming not so much like another chapter in a novel as a different dream in the same night's sleep." These two passages show us how Larry fells with the whole situation. Nothing seems to be changing - everybody still is certain about him having something to do with Cindy's disappearance. The transfer to Jackson supposes to be a new part of his life, but it feels the same for Larry. The comparison in this text passage with the new chapter in a novel or a different dream in the same night shows us that there could be a change but isn't. Larry hopes for changes, but nothing happens. The consequences of the incident with Cindy Walker are present even until the current point of time in which the story takes place. There is definitely the change from unseen to seen. The following text passage shows this the presence of Larry's status as Scary Larry. "Shaniqua came to the table. Yall talking about Scary Larry? He looked up. Yeah. My momma went to school with him. She say that boy used to always have snakes in his pocket." The presence of the accusation on Larry is definitely there. The opinion that Larry is a strange person, that maybe has something to do with the missing of Cindy Walker, was handed from one to the next generation. Although Shaniqua does not mention Larry in the context with Cindy, I think the snakes does represent that Larry is guilty. A snake can stand for transformation because from time to time they shed themselves. In Larry's case this transformation would be from the unseen, lonely boy to the boy or man who is accused of having done a crime on Cindy. Mohamed Ahmed Monamed Almed SCARY LARRY Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter P. 168 - 181 exposition CHANGE OF LARRY In my opinion the outcome of Larry's life will be death. We know that he is injured because he was shot. Larry was his whole life long the unwanted, lonely guy. From the point on when Cindy went missing, he even was a criminal person. For himself I think death would not be as bad because with the end of his life, all the hate of others would stop, too. In summary it can be said that from the exposition as a lonely, unseen and even unwanted guy, Larry changes to a hero. However, just after his success of deciding to go out with a girl, everything changes. There is a huge disappointment, and the falling action starts to develop until the outcome. My personal prediction of Larry's outcome will be death - I think it would the best for Larry to die as soon as possible, at least better than fighting against all the hate around him. "Sometimes it's not the people who change, it's the mask that fall off." I'm very curious how the whole story will end and if there are masks that will fall. Thank you for your attention. Are there any questions? LONELY& UNSEEN No real friends alone in school "And Larry Ott, he was just a hick that nobody liked.' 'How come?' 'He was weird. Lived so far out in the country he didn't have any friends."" p. 178 l. 18ff. ● LONELY& UNSEEN No real friends alone in school No seen or wanted "He stood, waiting to be noticed, congratulated on his performance, maybe, welcomed by the group, given a beer." p. 179 l. 24f. “[...] we all just kind of pretended not to see him. All of us." p. 179 1. 32 “[...] we all just kind of pretended not to see him. All of us." p. 179 1. 32 “[...] we all just kind of pretended not to see him. All of us." p. 179 1. 32 LONELY& UNSEEN No real friends alone in school • No seen or wanted ● Realtion to his father ● exposition CHANGE OF LARRY rising action climax The one Success "POPULAR" c 206 boke "[...] 'Hell,' he said, 'I'll even pay.' He produced his wallet and drew a twenty-dollar bill. [...] He could have slid a thousand-dollar bill and Larry wouldn't have been more surprised." p. 147 l. 26ff. "[...] 'Hell,' he said, 'I'll even pay.' He produced his wallet and drew a twenty-dollar bill. [...] He could have slid a thousand-dollar bill and Larry wouldn't have been more surprised." p. 147 l. 26ff. "Horse shit', Ken hissed to the back of his head. 'She wouldn't go out with you."" p. 149 l. 11f. "Horse shit', Ken hissed to the back of his head. 'She wouldn't go out with you."" p. 149 l. 11f. "Horse shit', Ken hissed to the back of his head. 'She wouldn't go out with you."" p. 149 l. 11f. exposition CHANGE OF LARRY rising action climax falling action > < outcome ● ● SEEN& ACCUSED No proof for his innocence Last one who had seen Cindy Mistrust starts to grow 4 "[...] the weeks stretching into months, and when even the most fervent optimists were beginning to doubt she'd run away [...] Larry spent his hours in his room, reading" p. 170 l. 30ff. ● ● SEEN& ACCUSED Last one who had seen Cindy No proof for his innocence Nobody believes in him Time stands still, no change in sight A “Their lives had stopped, frozen, as if in a picture, and the days were nothing more than empty squares on a calendar." p. 171 l. 12f. "[...] he was transferred to Jackson, Mississippi, this new part of his life seeming not so much like another chapter in a novel as a different dream in the same night's sleep." p. 172 l. 19ff. ● ● SEEN& ACCUSED Last one who had seen Cindy No proof for his innocence Nobody believes in him Time stands still, no change in sight Seen "Shaniqua came to the table. 'Yall talking about Scar Larry?' He looked up. 'Yeah.' [...] 'My momma went to school with him. She say that boy used to always have snakes in his pocket'." p. 181 l. 16ff. exposition CHANGE OF LARRY rising action climax falling action outcome Thank you for your attention! Are there any questions?