The Ache of Amontillado - Narrative

**The authorities have picked up Montresor and brought him to the local police station for questioning. Write a one page dialogue that illustrates Montresor's conversation with police.


I stared out the window of my home. Carneval overtook the streets. Again. Fifty years ago I was a young 35 years old with a dear "friend" of mine at the same celebration. Fifty years ago I ended his life. Stepping back and looking away from the window, I swallowed with a frown. No regrets. No regrets.

ba-boom. 

Just then, a rattle on the door. My heart jumped. The knock was loud. It was bold, it was powerful, it was frightening. My ears no longer rang with the sound of music, dancing, and screaming outside. They rang with one knock on the door. They rang in time to the beat of my heart in my chest.

"Just a drunk looking for more wine for his companions...Carneval does bring the drunks. It does bring the drunks..."

ba-boom. 

I took small, slow steps down the stairs. My legs ached and my cane prodded to find the next surfaces. Heavily breathing, I opened the door. My eyes squinted to focus on his face; a young face with messy stubble and messy hair. But he did not smell of wine or of Carneval. He was not a drunk.

"Sir, are you alright?" he said worriedly.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine... Just a little old."

The young man smiled and lightly chuckled at the joke, showing his messy teeth. "It's nice to see some people can still keep a sense of humor without being drunk around this time. Speaking of drunks...Do you know where I can find a man by the name of Montresor? I was hoping he might still live here."

I shifted. "Yes...I do still live here. I am Montresor. What do you need? I do not give away wine from my catacombs." I said harshly.

At my words, the young man no longer smiled a messy smile. He wore a serious expression, like a whole new man; no longer an untidy face.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me, sir."

"Why's that? Go with a drunk? I think not."

He laughed a serious laugh. "No sir. Not a drunk. An officer."

He pulled out a circle. Bright gold, engraved. A badge. The symbol of a police officer.

ba-boom.   ba-boom.

***

The room was cold and empty. It was lit by a fluorescent light that seemed to make the foul smell of the room even stronger and even more nauseating. A table sat in the middle of the room, made of metal the temperature of a hundred glaciers on the coldest night. The young man...Young officer sat across from me and set a file in front of him. He stared at me and smiled. Leaned back in his chair, and stared.

"How is carneval treating you this year, Montresor?"

"Just fine. Just like every year."

My arms ached uncomfortably. I massaged my right arm carefully with shaking fingers.

"Wonderful. May I ask...How was carneval treating you, say, fifty years ago?"

ba-boom.   ba-boom.   ba-boom.

Ache. Swallow. Smile.

"Fine. Just fine. One has to appreciate the older days when you're my age. You can't go celebrate at carneval like you used to. Wine, however, still tastes delightful."

"Who did you like to celebrate with?"

"Friends, of course."

Shift.

"Did you happen to know a man named Fortunato? I hear he was quite the celebrator." He leaned forward in his chair. "Was quite a celebrator, yes?"

Smile.

"Yes. A drinker on occasions. But what do you need? I know nothing of his death."

"That's not what I hear, Montresor."

ba-boom.   ba-boom.    ba-boom.    ba-boom.

I smiled to hide my rising worry and the rising ache in my arms. "Just who are you hearing it from, may I ask? A couple of drunks? At Carneval? Hah! Surely you're not stupid enough to believe a drunk on Carneval night, officer!"

"Yes, one would be a fool to believe the drunks on such a night of alcohols. And what was it that Fortunato specialized in? Wine, correct? But anyway, Sir Monstresor, our witness was not a drunk. She had not yet had a drink when she saw an...interesting sight, for lack of better word."

"Interesting sight? Well I'd say one might see quite the number of interesting sights on a night of drunks, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes. Quite true," he said with a smile. "But this sight is far more interesting than anything else you might see. Why, she saw you! And with who, I wonder."

"I'm afraid it escapes my memory."

"Don't play clueless, Montresor! You may be old, but you are without a doubt, a smart man. Our witness saw you with Fortunato. As far as we know, you are the last to see him before his apparent death. She saw you and your friend enter this exact house. What did you two do? What did he do?"

ba-boom.   ba-boom.    ba-boom.    ba-boom.   ba-boom.

"We simply drank a little wine. Some amontillado. Fortunato was a fine man in the art of wine but he could handle no more of it than any other man. He became drunk, as well as I. I, though it may be embarrassing, I fell asleep rather quickly afterwards. Fortunato left me in my home and went out to Carneval. He was a smart man when he was sober, but I cannot say the same for when he was drunk."

The officer stared at me, expecting more. I smiled pleasantly.

"I'm afraid I can tell you no more."

The officer looked unsatisfied. "Montresor, no one claims to have seen the man at Carneval after he entered your home and drank your wine, as you say he did. And no one has seen him for fifty years. Why is that?"

"Officer, haven't we agreed? You're not going to get much information from drunks on Carneval. They cannot tell their own hands from the hands of those next to them. And as I have said before, Fortunato was stupid man when he became drunk. Very...Very stupid in fact. Probably got himself into trouble."

"I see..." he leaned forward once again. "Would you mind...Showing me the location where you both drank together?"

***

I climbed the stairs down to the catacombs this time. I had not been down here in ages, it seemed. My aching legs could no longer take the climb.

ba-boom.   ba-boom.    ba-boom.    ba-boom.   ba-boom.   ba-boom.

I lead him slowly through the maze inside. Walls upon walls of fine wines covering graves of unknown men and women. A heave with each step.

We reached the section where I had taken justice into my own hands. I smiled at the remembrance.

"What is this wall, Montresor?"

"Oh, just a renovation."

He looked skeptically at the wall and ran his hands over the stones. "Why?"

I leaned against the wall of the catacombs, my arm supporting me. "Oh, you know. Just to seal off an unwanted section. Rats favored it." I said, heaving.

ba-boom  ba-boom  ba-boom  ba-boom  ba-boom  ba-boom  ba-boom  ba-boom

"Are you alright, Montresor?"

"I'm sorry, what was that you said?"

ba-boom ba-boom ba-boom ba-boom ba-boom ba-boom ba-boom ba-boom

My face contorted. I collapsed. I clutched my chest, over my heart.

ba-boomba-boomba-boomba-boomba-boomba-boomba-boomba-boomba-boomba-boom

"Dear god! Montresor!"

***

Th crew set down their sledge hammers after knocking down a large enough portion of the wall to step through.

"Do you really think he just...renovated it? Down here?" a crew member asked, looking around the well kept room.

"Hard to say. When I spoke to him, he seemed rather sure of himself. Calm and confident. Didn't realize he was in the middle of dying!"

"Hah, maybe you're just a pretty bad officer."

The dust settled down from the wall. "We'll see about that," the officer said.

The crew members all looked down and twiddled with their sledge hammers in an effort to look occupied. The officer rolled his eyes and entered the room, alone. He covered his nose immediately. He jumped back when his foot crushed something with a loud crunch.

"Crew!"

**End**

Time Travel Q & A

Q: Where would you go? 

A: Baltimore, Maryland

Q:To which year or period would you travel?

A: October 7th during 1849

Q: Who would you want to meet or what event would you want to witness?

A: I'd want to meet Edgar Allan Poe before he died. 

Q: Where would you find this person or see this event?

A: Now that's the hard part...People don't know exactly where he was found.Some people say he was found just wandering the streets, others say he was found on a park bench. 

Q: Why would you want to meet this person or witness this event?

A: When people found him the day he died, he was already too delirious to tell them anything. I think a man like him would have really interesting things to say if you could have met him before he died (or before he started hallucinating). If not something interesting, he might have had something to say about what killed him in the end and it would be pretty cool to know why he died. Some say he was found outside a bar. So really, I'd have a hard time finding him!

Q: How might YOU change history?

A: Well, assuming I'm actually able to find him before he becomes delirious, I don't think I would change history even if I talked to him. I just kind of feel like his death was his death and there's nothing that should really be changed about it. Not in a mean way, though! I just think...That's that. What happened happened, even if it was tragic. Even if I were to get him to a hospital faster, what are the chances the medical technology back would have been able to save him? I know nothing about doctor-ness so I definitely wouldn't be able to really help him.

First Quarter Reflection

First quarter went by pretty fast. Faster than how it would go by in sixth or seventh grade. I guess you really become more aware of the time going by once it's your last year. Anyway, first quarter has brought me quite a few things.

First things first, the forty book challenge. So far I've read three books (four books if you count one I read outside of class) and will be done with my current book pretty soon. In these few books, I've learned more about what genres I prefer and what I like in books. It's making reading more enjoyable for me. I didn't really have an idea of a genre I liked last year, so I didn't read many books. I didn't want to read something I didn't like. Already this year, however, I'm noticing that I'm actually wanting to read. I'm hoping that I'm going to read a lot more books this year now that I know what I actually enjoy.

Blog wise, I honestly don't think my blogs have changed very much since August, but not in a bad way. I feel pretty satisfied on my writing with my blogs (unless I'm not focused when I'm writing them...then that's pretty bad...) so I'm glad I haven't changed much. Obviously, you can always improve, but I'm happy where I am.

My blogging strategy is definitely not the best...and that could completely be improved. My blogging routine usually goes like this:
1. Read the book.
2. Time to turn in blog!
3. I don't do the thing.
4. Read some more.
5. Don't do the thing.
6. Finally turn in my blog like two days late.

I have trouble doing the thing. You know what I mean. Not procrastinating. Not doing the blog. It's a terrible process. I think I do this because most of the time, I don't feel like doing it. So I don't. And I know this is bad. Another thing is the fact that some weeks, I feel I haven't read enough, so I take another day or two to read some more before diving into a blog. To improve, I could definitely read more during the week so I don't have to take extra time to read and end up with a blog two days late. That could definitely be improved. Other than that, I feel pretty good about my blogging strategy!

I've learned quite a bit about the world from first quarter. A big thing I've learned about is the Ebola virus epidemic this year. It's really cool (and kind of terrifying) to have learned about the epidemic when it was just a quarantine and worry in Africa. Over the course of a month or two since we learned about Ebola, the virus has spread to multiple countries. Including the US. It's cool to have seen it grow and learn that these things really do happen, but it's kind of scary. On another note, I've also learned about different perspectives on things. When we do class discussions (of sorts) on the world issues we've learned about, it's interesting to hear everyone else's opinions, takes, and solutions on the problems at hand.

It's hard to say how my research skills have improved...I mean, I don't really know what they were like before so I feel I can't accurately contrast them with my skills now. However, I'm going to assume that they have. I think now I'm willing to check many more websites/sources to get the information I need. Before, I might have just stuck with one or two sources and called it a day. Now I feel much more willing to find better and stronger sources in order to get good information to prove my point or include some information. But still, I'm not very certain (sorry).

I'm feeling pretty good about this quarter though! It kind of makes me dread the end of the year with saying goodbye to everyone, 'cause I feel like I've had a pretty good time so far.

Brave New World: Week of 10/13

** Character Development**
Pages read: 0-72

     New World  is about a Utopian society in AD Ford. What is "AD Ford"? AD Ford is 1908, the year Henry Ford first introduced and published his T-Model car. So, the book is set in the AF era in AD Ford. What is AF? AF is 'after Ford.' Ford being Henry Ford, again. The year is AF 632, 632 years after Ford first brought out his T-Model (so really it's the year 2540 but they number their years after the number of years that have passed since T-Model). But because this is a book about a Utopian society, it has taken quite a bit of time to introduce the reader to the way this society works. Basically, there hasn't been much character development. There definitely has been some-- just not a lot.

One example of character development came when the author described the feelings of Bernard Marx: "How bitterly he envied men like Henry Foster and Benito Hoover! Men who never had to shout at an Epilson to get an order obeyed; men who took their position for granted; men who moved through the cast system like a fish through water--" The society includes a caste system and Bernard is all the way at the top with Epilsons being all the way at the bottom. Bernard's rank should give him complete respect from those below him but because of the fact that he is rather short for someone in his rank (he's shorter than the average by 8cm), he isn't taken seriously. He has to yell to be obeyed unlike those in his same rank that merely have to whisper to be obeyed right away. This makes Bernard very angry and sad in a society where everyone is very happy. He's an outsider. The quote tells us that Bernard is a bitter person and then proceeds to explain why, making it direct character development. It tells us something explicitly about Bernard's character.

'"Perfect!' cried Fanny enthusiastically. She could never resist Lenina's charm for long." is another example of direct character development for both characters mentioned in the quote. We're told something about both Lenina and Fanny's character. For Lenina, we're told that she has a charm or a charming aura of sorts. Fanny, we learn, cannot resist this charm. We also get some indirect development from this. It states that Fanny can't resist Lenina's charm, but it also suggests that she gives into other things very easily. This is indirect character development because it only states Fanny can't stay mad at Lenina, and that's direct. Fanny caving into many things is indirect because the reader can come to a conclusion about it from the fact that she gives into Lenina so easily.



I think the covers are pretty cool for this book so I felt inclined to include four of them within this post. I'm so sorry but come on look at them.

Blog Improvement: Reflection

To see the progress I've made with blogging, I went back and read every single blog from seventh grade October. So that was quite a bit. Quite a bit of cringing. One of the first things I noticed was that I summarized the book way too much. Even now I still have a bit of a habit of summarizing the story a bit more than needed, but my summarizing back then was just way over the top, I think. I didn't include much of the prompt and spent a lot of the blog just telling the reader what the story was about, so that wasn't very good..

     I also noticed my overall awkwardness when reading the blogs. If I could describe my old blog with just one word it would be awkward. Without a doubt. Somehow, when I was writing them back then, I didn't think they sounded that awkward. Now, however, I have never truly understood the meaning of the word 'awkward' until I've reread those old blogs. Please let them be deleted and forgotten. I think this might have been spurred on by my habit of being repetitive. I wasn't repeating things very often, but when I was repetitive, I was full on redundant. Incredibly so. Like, "Wow did I just repeat the same idea like five times? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that's what I just did."

   Thankfully, I don't think I write like that anymore. At least, I hope I don't. I'm pretty sure that, at this point, my writing has improved from that terrible stage. I'm starting to try and not summarize my books too much, just giving the reader a very brief idea of the conflict and characters. But, my overwhelming amount of summarizing was a pretty big problem (in my opinion) so I think that might actually take quite some time to completely improve. 

     Awkwardness-wise, I have no idea if I've improved on that! When I was writing those blogs, I thought I was completely un-awkward. Now that I read back, I realize I was pretty bad. So, I'm desperately hoping I'm not writing these eighth grade blogs with a false sense of un-awkwardness like I was in seventh grade. I really hope my writing sounds as natural or casual as I think it sounds in my head when I think about what to write. Seriously hoping. 

     I think I can learn quite a bit from my old writing. As I notice all the things I could have improved, I also take note of it as a bad habit I used to have or still do have as I write. For example, because I noticed I am sometimes repetitive, it has taught me to keep an eye out for things I've already said or suggested. In the same take-note way, I've also learned to keep my amount of summarizing in check. It really is like me learning from my mistakes.

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You: Week of 9/29/14

** Author's Technique**
Pages read: 0-103


     Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You is about James, a teenage kid suffering from depression and a panic disorder he doesn't really want to admit he has. I thought the author used some pretty interesting techniques to really get his whole story across, especially because the story was told in James' point of view, so the author had to come across as a kid living a not-so-good life.

     One of the first techniques I noticed was the fact that the author used dialogue to tell most of the story. It reminded me of how "The Lottery" was written, with a lot of information coming from the dialogue rather than more information coming from the narrator. Because of James' depression, he sees a therapist named Dr. Adler. Quite a bit of the story after Dr. Adler is introduced is told within the conversations between James and Adler. With their conversations, we learn more about the things James has gone through and how he feels about them (because obviously, he has to talk about his feelings in therapy). Although, it wasn't just the actual verbal dialogue telling the story. There was also a lot of information pouring out of James' internal dialogue. Even though James goes through Therapy, he struggles to really voice everything he's feeling, so the reader learns more about the problem as he debates it in his head.

     Another technique was using character's back stories for their characterization. This was major in the development of James' character, but it also occurred with the people around him. One of the first back stories we hear about from James is the story of his mother. His mother had married James' father  but soon divorced him. After that, another marriage and divorce. After that, yet another marriage and yet another divorce. James tells us about these marriages and the affect it had on his mother. We learn why she's so sad and tired now. All the back stories we hear from James helps us get the back story on him. Though the complete set of reasons for his depression hasn't been completely revealed, we can tell from the back stories (and the way he tells them) that his parents' divorce is a cause of his depression. His parents, both being rather self absorbed, don't really pay much attention to James. And he doesn't mind. The problem is, without them, he doesn't know what to do with himself. When they are with him, it seems they don't really listen to him, either. So far, back stories have been piecing themselves together and are helping the reader learn more about James' past; and especially about an event in his past he doesn't want to talk to anyone about.

     The final technique I noticed while reading was the description the author used. The author described scenery and people more often than he would describe events happening (he left that to the dialogue, really). An example of description in this book is,

"Dr. Adler watched me patiently, in the way a psychiatrist would watch a patient, her face perfectly devoid of any expression except for a slight smear of concern."

     This book had a lot of descriptions of people and places but I just had to choose this one. "her face perfectly devoid of any expression except for a slight smear of concern." I just love the way the author chose to say it. He could have easily said something like, "She showed no emotion except for a tad bit of concern," but he didn't. He chose a more creative way of saying it with the use of "smear of concern," and saying how her face was "perfectly devoid of any expression". It's pretty interesting.