Katherine Acland
The Messenger
Markus Zusak
‘The Messenger’ by Markus Zusak is a powerful book cantered on a mediocre and kind of lazy cab driver called Ed Kennedy. After stopping a seemly half-hearted robbery, Ed begins to receive cards that tell him where to go, but it is up to him to decide what to do when he gets there. Throughout this book the theme of friendship was prominent as Ed strengthens his relationship with his friends and helps them with their struggles. He is a very realistic character and is brutally honest which made me like him and enjoy the book even more.
I thought that Friendship was an important theme throughout this book. Ed has three friends who he plays cards with. Even though he sees his friends regularly, he feels
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He was walking away from his brother sitting on the steps and thought, “I’d rather chase the sun than wait for it”. This is a huge contrast to what he thought about himself at the start, “It's scared and slippery as I wait for something to happen.”. That summed up Ed’s philosophy about his life and what he does with it. When I read ‘I’d rather chase the sun than wait for it’, I immediately thought of how different that was to how Ed thought in the beginning of the book. It was really impressive to me as that signalled a big amount of personal development that came from doing small things to make other people’s lives better. Ed changes himself but does nothing to benefit himself in the process. What I think that Markus Zusak was attempting to show was how everyone is able to change and improve their selves without ignoring people around them and their own problems or insecurities. Ed had a strong sense of accomplishment and purpose after he helped each person mentioned in the cards which I think shows how people need to look out for others more and that it is enough to only do simple things for strangers as that could make a massive difference. Ed was the most ordinary and simple person I could ever think of and at the end of the book, he had subtly transformed into a confident and mature person who cares more about people and life than he did before. The last …show more content…
I think that this novel has important life lessons throughout it that serve to help the reader relate to Ed and his life. This novel showed me a different kind of friendship and portrayed it in a way that showed how the best friends are sometimes the ones who are just there. This is important to me as most other books that I have read, show that best friendship is where people talk to the other about everything. I don’t talk to my friends about everything so seeing that made me question if our friendship would last. This novel helped me to realise that different friendships are able to be just as strong and important. Ed was an incredibly realistic character I admired for being able to change himself without doing anything that directly benefits him. I thought that the idea of helping others to help yourself personally develop is so important in today’s society as there is lots bullying, racism, homophobia and hate speech. ‘The Messenger’ was an amazing novel that I really enjoyed and would recommend to anyone who wants an interesting and easy
Friendship is a necessity throughout life whether it is during elementary school or during adulthood. Some friendships may last a while and some may last for a year; it depends on the strength of the bond and trust between the two people. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the main characters, Gene and Finny, did not have a pure friendship because it was driven by envy and jealousy, they did not feel the same way towards each other and they did not accurately understand each other.
The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson is a book that depicts two different people, that mainly focuses on jealousy, rivalry and the power of obsession over half a century. There are many characters in the novel and they build relationships with one another that eventually become intertwined. The relationships that are built end up having an effect on the character, and contributes something different to his understanding of himself and the decisions he makes. Ian in the novel is an example of that, where the relationships he builds with the others, helps him find who he is as a person and affects the decisions he makes. Specifically through the relationships with Pete, his father, and Jake, he gains something different from each character which proves to be vital to who he is. Without these characters, Ian would be very different, as each character contributed something to Ian’s ultimate understanding of himself.
Ed learns to face all of his fears, and he was able to rise above his feelings of incompetence as he helps others in areas where they need the most help in. Some of the messages that Ed receive are as simple, for example, buying an ice cream cone for a single mother, a church that needs congregation, but others put Ed in real danger. Ed’s last message, delivered on the joker card, it's for Ed himself. During the delivery of this message, Ed realized that “he was not the messenger, but rather he was the message itself.”( Zusak, p. 357). This quote shows that even ordinary ones, can rise about their perceived ability to make a difference in the world. Through his journey, Ed discovers that he has now become “full of purpose rather than incompetence, he also becomes more confident, and also improved him as a human
To begin with, according to Lucius Annaeus Seneca, “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood”. Even this quote explains that true friendship is when an individual stands for another individual. In the novel Of Mice and Men, author John Steinbeck examine the idea of friendship between two migrant ranch worker even when there was difficulties. Through the character of Slim and George, author Steinbeck illustrates friendship and reveals that friendships stand up for each other even when is difficult time.
The main character was supposed to learn that repeating the mistake again will never let you go anywhere and just lead to consequences. The message I got was that when making a mistake, make sure to don’t repeat instead learn from them and improve. I had to admit the story was filled with drama and heartbreak, but the story showed a brilliant lesson, and that you have to stand up for yourself. My favorite parts of the book where Imogen and Molly were friends again and when Molly stood up to Julia. The moments when Imogen and Molly were friends again were truly genuine and you can see the true connection between them as friends. Furthermore, when Molly stood up to Julia, it gave you a relief and made you say the word, finally. If I would have to give this book a rating, I would give it a 3.5/5, because the story was yet amazing, but I wish that Patrick and Gabe should have got some punishment and some blame and it was quite unbelievable that Molly made the same mistake twice, oblivious to the results. Overall, the story was great and it gave you that sensation of getting thrilled from drama and never once bored
The Messenger was originally published in 2002 in Australia, where it received the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book Award in 2003. The author, Markus Zusak, received several starred reviews for The Messenger. Most focusing on the successful development of a sympathetic character as he struggles to become a stronger person. The Messenger is about an ordinary young man, Ed Kennedy, who is sent playing cards with messages written on them from an unknown source. The messages written on these playing cards are perceived to be missions for Ed to complete. Ed, the main protagonist is described as the ‘epitome of ordinariness’ and is called a ‘dead man’. Zusak shows that ordinary people can do extraordinary things by pushing themselves
In the novel, I learned the with Great Friendship that it would be much easier to achieve anything, and with great determination, you could achieve anything. This shows that with a little friendship, and hard work, you can achieve anything that you want to. I would say after reading this book, that without friendship you can never have a better life, than the one Freak and Max and after all the two kids with no friends became two of the best friends you could ever
In terms of emotional stability, there is only one thing in life that is really needed and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. Loneliness leads to low self-esteem and deprivation. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters, Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife all exhibit some form of loneliness. They are driven towards the curiosity of George and Lennie's friendship because they do not have that support in their life. Through his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck demonstrates that often times, a victim of isolation will have a never-ending search to fulfill a friendship.
-In hard times, friends will always be there. Friendship is the most important thing in life. Without it, you are lonely and have no one to vent to. In her rough moments, Alaska exposes the real her to Miles and speaks her feelings. She puts his trust into him because she sees something kind in him. When Miles begins to date a girl, he goes to Alaska to give him dating advice. And finally, after Alaska’s passing, Miles and his friend Chip Martin must rely on each other for support. They cope and console with one
A major theme in Markus Zusak’s novel I am The Messenger is personal growth. At the beginning of the novel, Ed Kennedy does not seem like your everyday character in a novel. He does not seem like the person to amount to anything. Ed is a nineteen-year-old cab driver (underage) who loves playing cards with his three best friends, Marv, Ritchie, and Audrey, whom he has been hopelessly in love with for a long time, with little success. Because of the place, Ed is currently in, he feels that his life does not mean anything.
In conclusion, the author used a theme that conflict helps strengthen bonds. Some may argue that the main theme is about friendship. Though the author does mention this theme several themes it is not the main theme because it is not used often. The author spends more time emphasizing the value of relations between people and how they grow in times of conflict. Overall, the author uses emotional ways of the show not tell in a well-crafted novel to help readers know how we can connect it to our daily
Through a careful reading of the deer-hunting scene in Deliverance and "Fog Envelops the Animals" the argument that Ed begins his transformation to a true hunter and killer in this moment is further strengthened. He is able to become one with the wilderness and it allows him to feel and act as a true hunter. Even though he misses the shot, his purpose is to kill.
Theme: Situations and surroundings can shatter the innocence of friendship, but more the identity of the individuals.
In I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak, the main character Ed is a nineteen-year-old cab driver in Australia who has never amounted to anything. One day, while with his three best friends, an event occurs that forever changes his life. While in a bank, they are held up at gunpoint. Ed ends up stopping the criminal and saving the day. Days later, as the bank robber’s trial is ending, he tells Ed that he is “a dead man… [And to] [r]emember it every day when [he] look[s] in the mirror” (Zusak 38). This overlooked statement by the reader comes back in the end of the novel to reveal an important message that “everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of” (535). Before attending the trial though, Ed begins to receive playing cards with addresses, names, times, and movie titles on them that require him to complete tasks, which challenge him in more ways than he could ever imagine. In the short story “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, the two characters, Lane and Sheri, are faced with a situation that changes their lives as well; Sheri is pregnant with Lane’s baby. Even though Lane’s and Sheri’s situation is a little different than that of Ed’s, they relate greatly as all the characters are forced to make decisions that can alter the rest of their lives. In the novel, morality is used to accomplish self-discovery and growth of Ed’s personality by pushing his boundaries, and in the short story “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, morality is used to accomplish growth and the realization of consequences of one’s actions by placing the young couple in a faith questioning situation no adolescent wants to face.
The famed nurses study from Harvard found “Not having a close friend is as detrimental to your health as smoking.” Lennie and George’s friendship is necessary to keep the better for each other. Throughout the story, Lennie and George need each other and look out for one another no matter what. Lennie and George’s friendship and journey throughout the story symbolizes the struggles to achieve the American dream. Steinbeck, in the story Of Mice and Men, combines characterization and symbolism to prove friends do whats best for eachother.