Top 10 about The Midnight Rambler

Top Ten The Midnight Rambler:
These are not in specific order.

1) Jack Carpenter:
He is the Main Character who is an ex-cop. He is still working on the case that he was taken off the police fore. That case was personal because Simon Skell and his group was killing girls who Jack knew and who he had helped straighten out the girls’ lives.

2) Simon Skell:
A killer that Jack Carpenter beat up and put him into jail for the murder of Carmella Lopez. He and Paul Coffen, Jonny Perez, and Neil Bash killed girls. During the book Simon Skell is in prison and almost ready to get out of jail. Once he was released they tried to kill a girl Melinda which led to Simon’s death.

3) Ken Linderman:
Ken Linderman is an FBI agent who helps Jack Carpenter. Ken believes that Simon Skell killed those girls and he also believes that Skell killed his daughter. Through out the book Linderman and Carpenter compare evidence to try to figure out the murders.

4) The kidnapping of Shannon Dockery:
The kidnapping of Shannon Dockery was a huge lead into the Simon Skell case. With this kidnapping Jack Carpenter found out how Skell, Perez, Coffen, and Bash were picking their victims, through pictures taken at a local fast food chain.

5) Melinda:
Melinda was another huge character in The Midnight Rambler. She was kidnapped by Simon Skell, because of this she helped to the end of Simon Skell being killed. Without her kidnapping, Simon Skell could have been alive at the end of the book.

6) Jonny Perez:
Jonny Perez worked with Simon Skell. He would kidnap the girls and dump their bodies. He is still alive and ready to kill at the end of the book. He escaped from Jack Carpenter when he was fighting Simon Skell in the last part of the book.

7) The Girl’s Funerals
The girl’s funeral was a big thing, it left the possibility of more murders because Jonny Perez was missing, but due to the tape recording of the song Midnight Rambler live version by The Rolling Stones.

8) The Murder of Carmella Lopez:
The murder of Carmella Lopez sent Simon Skell to jail, and also released him from jail, because they arrested another guy named Ernesto for the murder of him. Which got Simon released from jail, even though Ernesto did not kill Carmella.

9) Paul Coffen
Paul Coffen worked with Simon Skell on the killings. Paul owned the company which took orders from the fast food chain. With those pictures Paul chose the victims, and then Perez would kidnap them.

10) Neil Bash
Neil Bash is a radio dj, who helped Simon Skell with the murders. He would have the people closest to Jack Carpenter, come on the radio and Bash would interview them. He would twist around their words so it made Jack Carpenter sound worse.

week 7- post b

This section of reading has been the best section of the book. The suspense has been killer. Jack Carpenter, the main character has been on a hunt to track down Melinda. Through interviewing one member of the group of murders. It leads them on a chase to find the other members. Three of the four men were killed, the one that is still alive and his where abouts are unknown. The last final pages of the book were a battle between Perez, Skell and Carpenter. In the ocean, Skell and Carpenter had a fight, and Skell was killed by a lemon shark, and Perez escaped. Carpenter saved Melinda, and a team of divers had found the other girls’ bodies Skell, Bash, Perez and Coffen had killed. They found the bodies of Chantel, Maggie, Carmen, Jen, Krista, Brie, and Lola. Jack had the girls buried, and while he and his family were at the cemetery he realized that Perez was still alive and ready to kill again by a cassette player that was left in his car. It contained a tape of the recording of the Midnight Rambler the live version by The Rolling Stones, which is the song Skell, Bash, Perez and Coffen would play when they were torturing and killing the girls.

Week 7- Post A

Torrent(305)- a violent or overwhelming flow.
Frisked(300- a search for something concealed like a weapon.
‘”over the past six months, Perez took his boat out many times, always when it was late at night”’(334). That was when Perez would dump the girls’ bodies in the ocean, and Jack thought that his thought about Perez dumping the girls’ bodies in the ocean was right.

Outside Reading Book- Week 6- Post B

Throughout this section of reading, there have been many new leads, and evidence introduced into the story. Jack Carpenter has found two men involved with Skell and the murders. Through questioning, Jack had found out that Melinda is being held at the other man Jonny’s house. Two men of Skell’s have been killed, Bash and Coffen. Bash, the radio dj, and Coffen the owner of the company that was taking the orders for the fast food chain. They are about to go to Jonny’s house to try to find Melinda.

Outside Reading Book- Week 6- Post A

One emerging theme in the book is death, because there have been two deaths in the past 50 pages.
Ramification (293)- the consequences complicating a problem, or plan.
Solemnly(297)- grave as a person, speech or tone.

Outside Reading Book- Week 5- Post B

Throughout this section of reading, a new lead in the Skell case has been discovered. With help from the kidnapping case of Shannon Dockery, Carpenter discovered were pictures had been taken of Shannon and her father Tram Dockery at a fast food chain. These pictures were taken when they ordered from the drive thru. The orders had been taken from a company who took orders from multiple fast food places around the state. With these pictures the owner of the company finds his new victims for kidnapping cases or murders. Jack and FBI agents have linked the owner Paul Coffen to Simon Skell and the other men in the kidnappings. They are going to go talk to Paul Coffen and see if he will give up the location of Melinda who is still alive, but being held hostage in somebody’s closet.

Outside Reading Book- Week 5- Post A

One emerging theme in the book is loneliness, because Jack Carpenter does not have any friends in the book, and is divorced.
"I'd found him"(235). Jack Carpenter has identified the another person in the group of killers. This is leading to the finding of Melinda, who is still alive.

Outside Reading Book- Week 4- Post B

‘”Skell may have won this battle, but he won’t win the war’” (172). While Jack Carpenter was in Tampa, the police charged Ernesto for the murder of Carmella Lopez. The murder that Simon Skell went to prison for, so Simon Skell and his lawyer are in the process of getting Skell out of Jail. Jack has found a new lead in the old case that might still give them enough evidence to keep Skell in jail. Carpenter is now investigating this lead on Nash Bash, who he believes is associated with Skell and the killings. Along with two other people that help Bash and Skell torture and murder women. Bash, Skell, and two people all have their own different jobs, like one finds the women who they are going to torture and murder. Due to this new lead, Skell may be released from prison, but the police are going to have a twenty four hour watch. So Jack could still put him back into prison if he can find more evidence.

Outside Reading Book- Week 4- Post A

One emerging theme is kidnapping because two girls have got kidnapped in the book.

‘“Skell may have won this battle, but he won’t win the war”’(172). This is important because Skell is getting out of jail, but the police are still watching him, and trying to build a stronger case against him.

Outside Reading Book- Week 3- Post B

“I needed to regroup and come up with another strategy” (145). Jack Carpenter, the main character, has been in a lot of situations through out the book. From those situations he has always made plans for his method of attack, and some how most of these plans have failed him. When something in his life goes wrong, he always thinks of another strategy to try to finish what he had started. Also, “Joy had punched her attacker as he’d killed her” (140). Jack’s life has changed dramatically from this last couple of sections of the book. His life used to be his own rules, and he could sort of do whatever he wanted to. Now his main witnesses in the Skell case have been murdered, or gone missing. He only has a couple of clues about it, how that they recently had been having some cable problems, and had some cable guys come out to look at the cable, and also another clue is that they drive a white van. Which that van had been shooting at Jack driving down the highway. Due to these recent murders and Simon Skell is coming closer to being released from prison. Jack has to figure out the Skell case, the murders and his life.

Debate Blog

political debates- they occur in various cities.- to inform people about candidates- yes- structured-gives people opportunity to hear the candidates discuss their views.

Outside Reading Book- Week 3- Post A

Vocab:

Melee (p. 125)- a confusion or struggle of several people.

Salinity (p.116)- a solution containing salt.



Theme:
One emerging theme in the book is murder, because people are getting killed.

Outside Reading Book- Week 2- Post B

“If Skell walks, he’ll come after you” (86). This quote was said by FBI agent Linderman. Linderman has been watching Skell for a while, and he wanted to go over the notes, witness statements and other facts of the case with Carpenter. Since Carpenter put Skell in prison for the murder of Carmella Lopez, Linderman states that Skell might want to hurt or kill Carpenter if he gets out of jail. If Skell gets out of jail, he could kill Carpenter, and if Carpenter dies, would Skell kill all of the other people involved with the case too? If this quote was not put in the book, there would not be suspense, and this is an important quote because it is a turning point. Before Carpenter was doing random jobs, and had no steady income. He was lonely due to the fact that he was divorced and his daughter was in college and his life was full of hiding from the police due to his temper and is now turning to a life of hiding from the cops and now probably hiding from Skell too. Now with the possibility of Skell getting out of jail, how will this affect Carpenter’s life because of Skell coming after Carpenter. Would he go into hiding, or do something else that would affect his life. Will Skell find the key witness from his case that is hiding out of fear of her being attacked or killed?

Outside Reading Book- Week 2- Post A

-One emerging theme is mystery because some characters are hiding from other characters and not acting normal.
-“If Skell walks, he’ll come after you” (86). This was told to Carpenter from FBI agent Linderman. Linderman has been looking over the Skell case, and was comparing findings with Jack. When their meeting ended, he said that Skell will probably come after Carpenter when he gets out of jail. If Skell gets out of jail, Jack would have to live with the fact that Skell is trying to kill him, or get him killed.

Outside Reading Book- Week One- Post B

The Book Midnight Rambler has some interesting characters. The main character Jack Carpenter is a former cop who resigned after he beat up suspect Simon Skell. Skell went to trial and was convicted for the murder of Carmella Lopez. Having the Skell case be his last case, he is obsessed with it, still trying to figure out what happened and if he was correct with his thinking of the murder. Carpenter, was known for his temper, and now always seems to be in trouble with the police. For example, when detective Bobby Russo had Carpenter arrested for trespassing, Jack got off the handcuffs and threw them down on Russo’s car. “If there’s one thing that’s gotten me in trouble, it’s my temper. I walked down to the street and located Russo’s car, a black Suburban. I tossed the cuffs onto the hood, causing a sizeable dent” (39). Also, Jack does not have a job. He gets hired by detectives when needed to help with cases and gets paid under the table. Not only is the other things in his life are bad, he also is lonely. He is divorced, and his daughter is in college. I believe that in this book, Jack Carpenter will get into a lot of trouble with the police, and maybe go to jail for a while because of his temper. I also believe that he will try to get his old career back together, and get another job by trying to figure out the Skell case again.

Outside Reading Book-Week One- Post A

-One emerging theme in the book is trouble, because the main character Jack Carpenter always seems to be in trouble with the law.
-“The Police found Carmella” (33). This is an important quote because this is the start of the new thinking of the Simon Skell case. Former cop Jack Carpenter put Skell in prison for the murder of Carmella, but now people are starting to question if Skell really was the killer.

Book Explanation

Midnight Rambler by James Swain
2007
Fiction
350
This book is challenging for a high school sophomore, because it is about a cop who put away a serial killer, but the killer is still in jail and another murder has occurred.
I picked this book, because it is a mystery novel, and I like mysteries, and I think it would be a good book to read.

The Sea Inside post 3

In The Sea Inside, they directors used films of shots like high angle. They used high angle and low angle when Julia was talking to Ramon. There was a close up on Ramon’s face and alternating between Ramon and Julia. Using high angle, it made Ramon seem a little less important, and using the low angle it made Julia look taller. It seemed like she was more important than Ramon. Also, in the beginning of the movie they used fire hosing, which made it feel first person, and that the audience was in the movie. This was important because it made the movie feel more real. Another shot/ film technique that the director used was the extreme close ups. By using extreme close ups, people watching the movie could see the actors emotions, which helped throughout the movie to show how the affect of assisted suicide on the family members and friends. Throughout the movie the director used many techniques which helped the message of the movie be told.

The Sea Inside post 2

The Sea Inside Reflection
The Sea Inside and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly are similar in many ways. First, in The Sea Inside, the main character Ramon was a quadriplegic, and in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Jean-Dominique had locked-in-syndrome. Both people were trapped in their bodies, and Jean-Dominique and Ramon both wanted to die. Also, they wrote a book. Jean-Dominique wrote a book about his stroke which lead to locked in syndrome and the life after. Ramon wrote a book on some poems that he had written earlier in his life. Some differences are that Ramon killed himself with help and Jean-Dominique did die, but not with help. Also, Ramon was able to talk, and Jean-Dominique was only able to blink an eye lid. This was hard, when he was writing his book. Ramon could easily speak his mind, but Jean-Dominique could not. I felt that the movie The Sea Inside had a bigger impact on me than the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The Sea Inside was more powerful, because I could actually see him, his life, and how boring it must have been, being in a bed all the time, and having people tending to his every need. In The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, I could not picture it as easily because the book confused me.

The Sea Inside- post 1

I was shocked that Ramon actually got help from his friends to commit suicide, because all of the times he was going to and it didn’t happen. When the book was published Julia said that she would bring him the first copy of the book and then that would be the day that he would die. She mailed him a copy therefore extending his day of death. It seemed like he would not get help from people. I think it is wrong that he asked for assisted suicide, because I think it is wrong because he was going to end his life and he should be happy that he is alive. I thought that the court’s response was the correct response, and I don’t think that what Ramon did was the right thing. He should not have killed himself, because he had a life, he could still talk to his family and friends. He also had people who cared about him. His friends, who agreed to help him with his death, did the wrong thing. They were assisting to murder, and I do not believe that that was the right thing to do.