Marley and Me, Week 4, Post A

VOCAB
Pallid (163)- dull, pale

Egregious (179)- extremely bad

APPEALS
“ ‘The dog was hysterical’ he gushed. ‘Just hilarious. Pure madcap genius!’ I could feel myself standing taller, chest puffing out” (158). This is an emotional appeal because it helps the reader understand how proud John was of Marley’s acting skills and feel the pride along with John. This also conveys a sense of how truly entertaining Marley’s acting was, which is somewhat of a comic appeal.

“The women were tanned to the consistency of the Gucci leather bags they favored, their burnished skin set off by hair dyed alarming shades of silver and platinum” (165). This is definitely a logical appeal because it explains the strange appearance of the women of Boca Raton. Their skin isn’t just firm, it’s as tight as leather- now that’s what I call a face lift!

“A wall of energy hit me in the chest like an invisible linebacker” (192). This is an emotional appeal because the reader understands how severe the pain was John endured from the lightning strike a few feet away. Also, there is a strong sense of fear within the reader as this sentence (and passage) about the lightning strike is read.

QUOTE
“‘Did Colleen mention if he said anything about me?’ I asked. ‘No,’ Jenny said. ‘Why would he?’” (151). This quote is important because it explains John’s true passion to be in a movie. He thinks that the director will want to cast him because he is a “quintessentially heterosexual male” and he even plans to “humbly demur before finally agreeing to take the starring role”. Perhaps a lifelong dream of John’s is to be in a movie, or maybe he’s just jealous that his dog is being recognized more than he is.

THEME
One emerging theme is that a person should learn to trust others. At first, Marley seems like a dog who is and will always be uncontrolled and wild, and immediately John and Jenny don’t trust him. Marley damages the house several times while John and Jenny are out, which leads to more distrust. However, as the novel progresses, Marley is still full of verve but learns to be gentle when he is around the three Grogan children, which allows John and Jenny to place more trust in him.