Marley and Me, Week 4, Post B

Dear Mr. Grogan,
I have read through chapter 20 of your novel “Marley and Me” and I love it!!! As a reader I feel very connected to you and the situations you are placed in through your word choice and tone throughout the novel. However, I am still confused as to why you didn’t move after three murders and one attempted murder happened within mere blocks of your home. Weren’t you desperately concerned for your children’s and your safety? Or did you just not have the money to move to a better neighborhood (with a bigger house) at the time? If that much crime were to happen near my house, I would surely want to move as quickly as possible. In addition, I am truly in awe of how you and Jenny were able to keep calm when Marley took off down the street at the alfresco dining restaurant. If I were in your place I would have been screaming at the top of my lungs for Marley to stop running. I guess your patience and sense of calmness come from countering your fast paced life and Marley’s high energy level! Also, the passage “She photographed toothbrushes on the sink. She photographed babies in their cribs. She photographed the quintessentially heterosexual couple’s eunuch dog, too” (150) reminded me of Richard Wright’s writing style. He too used repetitive word choice, but in a more reflective sense of looking back on his childhood. I found this comparison very interesting, considering that there is a time difference of over half a century between his novel, “Black Boy” and your novel, “Marley and Me”! I have enjoyed every minute of your novel and can’t wait to finish the last few chapters!
Sincerely, Rachel