Book Report: The Unlikely Disciple
The Unlikely Disciple is about a Brown University journalist student, Kevin Roose, who decides to spend one semester at Liberty University. He chooses to take this semester in order to order to get better insight on the evangelical community. Although originally Roose only wanted to shallowly integrate into the Christian community to gain a better perspective, by the end of the novel he realizes that you cannot pretend to be something you are not without being a little affected by it. One of the struggles Roose faces is dating Ana who is a female student at Liberty University. Even though there is clearly chemistry between the two, Roose opts out of dating Ana as he does not want to start a relationship based on the false pretenses he has created to fit in at the university. The students at Liberty University are subjected to a great deal of rules that most college students would vehemently disregard. These rules are reinforced by students who are RAs. The author describes being an RA at Liberty as “one of the most grueling jobs on the planet” (174). The college students are forbidden to smoke, drink, and curse. There is great variation in the rules as the students are also prohibited from watching R-rated movies, dancing, hugging more than three seconds, or having any sexual interaction with the opposite sex. For example, the guys on Roose’s dorm hall were caught watching the gory R-rated movie 300 and their punishment was to get “twelve [reprimands] to each person present,” “fined a combined $350,” and “the DVD was confiscated” (172). Some of the rules are implemented to stop activities that will lead the students into further sinful behavior, such as the movie and hugging restrictions. As any ...
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...plot twists. For instance, Keven Roose was the last to get a print interview from the late Jerry Falwell and the article Roose wrote was handed out during the funeral. It is a little ironic that Kevin Roose wrote the article in order to gain a better understanding of the late Jerry Falwell for his novel. I believe the author successfully gave an unbiased account of the evangelical lifestyle. The novel included a range of evangelical Christians which demonstrates that it would be ignorant and wrong to group all of these individuals in one group based on religion. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how the author reacted to opinions he did not agree with, specifically the constant homophobic remarks which were rather insulting as he has many gay friends and gay family members. Therefore, I would recommend the novel because it has interesting content and a reasonable length.
The book is great with the plot mainly focused in the courtroom, but it feels like the author put the plot of the story from different events that happened to younger people and not from one whole event. Finally, the document went into depth of how the defense attorney went on to get every piece of evidence as possible to make the eyes of the jury see that Brenton Butler was not the person that shot and killed the
...dage and Freedom. The way Tom broke both of these parts down in his way impressive. The chapter itself was very good but the two charts that I mentioned really caught my attention most of all. The chart of Judaism, Christianity, designed by Coffman. This was place strategically by Tom in a very good place in his explanation of this part of his book. Another example of a good gathering of your resources and placing them in good spots. The last two chapters are like the rest put together. Overall, this was a well-written book. It was easy to read and to understand. The more I read the book and didn’t put it down. It took me two days to read and the only reason I put it down between the days was that I fell asleep with it in my hands. When I see Tom, again I will personally thank him for writing this. I will also tell him that I got a lot out of it. Good Book!
I enjoyed that the book challenged some of the biggest problems in our legal system, or even society as a whole. There is still a lot of racism going on, and this book was not afraid to exploit that. I enjoy those kinds of readings. They are the things that will eventually spark a change and shed some light on the problems that are happening right now.
I enjoyed the book and I tought it was easy to read and understand. The constant adversities Andreas faced keep me craving more, from the prison scene to him being kidnapped left me wondering what would happen for the next chapter. I also enjoyed learning about the Jewish culture and traditions that the book mentioned, and having a new take on arguments regarding the practice of the Sabbath or how Jesus’s teachings could have sounded to a Gentile back in the day. Overall a fun and interesting book to read and challenged by views on the humanity of Jesus.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys historical fiction books where the characters learn life-altering lessons. I also feel that people of all ages would enjoy this book because it’s messages and theme was very positive. While I did enjoy this book, I think I will not be reading another historical fiction novel for my upcoming book response.
I loved its tone. Dell seems not to be showing off how smart he is, but is just a man concerned that he hasn't seen these ideas explained clearly, and thinks that a basic understanding of the subject makes life a little more comprehensible. The tone is that of a heart-to-heart talk between friends; he has some concerns he'd like to get off his chest, and thinks perhaps you'll profit from hearing them. I think the down-to-earth yet colorful style of the book attracted me even more than the subject matter. In so many ways I was taught in school that pretension was part of what made writing good; this was a beacon saying that there was integrity in stating things plainly and honestly as you saw them, and admitting that you don't know everything. A hard lesson to learn, and all the harder when your whole youth is about maintaining a false front for your own survival. (I grew up gay in Orange County, California, which at the time was a very homophobic place. Maybe it still is; I don't go back much.) I still reread this book every couple of years, and I wish I had more of its style. But then I'm not Floyd Dell and shouldn't try to be. And I admit after 20 years or so the book seems slighter than it once did.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and believe it to be one of the best books I have ever read. It was extremely well written and challenging for me to understand at times. It conveys that dark side of human ambition very well, and it has given me much to think about.
My overall opinion of this book is good I really liked it and recommend it to anyone. It is a good book to read and it keep you interested throughout the whole book.
This is my personal reflection about this book. First and foremost, I would like to say that this book is very thick and long to read. There are about nineteen chapters and 278 pages altogether. As a slow reader, it is a quite hard for me to finish reading it within time. It took me weeks to finish reading it as a whole. Furthermore, it is written in English version. My English is just in average so sometimes I need to refer to dictionary for certain words. Sometimes I use google translate and ask my friends to explain the meaning of certain terms.
...corporates a main religious symbol and other symbolic terms into the book as a whole idea and base for his story. There was a lot to like about the book and very little to dislike for me, as the main character reminded me of myself, and I enjoyed how everything ties together in the book. I enjoyed the plot and setting of the book and liked how there were clues through out the book on how things would happen, some more evident then others. The only thing I didn’t like about the book were thee items used in that fashion within the house. Although the author described everything very well in the book there were some things he left out or assumed the reader already knew. To me I didn’t get some of the items use but for a more educated people it could have been easy. Overall I had a great time reading the book and think others should read it to, in my opinion of course.
have chosen it for my report. Finally, I will give my reactions to the novel
Did you like the book? would you recommend this book to others? Why or why
The gang's genesis dates to 1960, with a South Side gang called the Devil's Disciples had become sufficiently large to warrant being given an outreach worker by the Welfare Council of Metropolitan Chicago Youth Services (source: Chicago Historical Society). The Devil's Disciples were mostly male African-Americans, 15-18 years of age, frequenting the intersection of 53rd St. and Kimbark Ave., and operated from 53rd and Woodlawn to 49th St. and Dorchester Ave. In the early 1960s this gang known as the Devils Disciples became the "Black Disciples" (see Explosion of Chicago's Black Street Gangs: 1900 to Present, 1990, by Useni Perkins). The three major players in the Devils Disciples were David Barksdale, Shorty Freeman, and Don Derky.
Evaluation: I thought the book was very exciting and suspenseful like her other books. The book had very good detail and an interesting plot. I liked the twist when Juan and the girl’s father came upon Glenn walking down the road. I also liked how the author described the action in great detail. It made me feel like I was right there seeing it all happen firsthand. I don’t think that the author could’ve made this book any better than she did already.
I believe that to be a Christian you have to be a disciple. Each must