Once a Runner

Theme:

Sense of Self, Journey, Alienation, Accomplishment, and Power.

Quotations:

"Quenton Cassidy moved out to the second lane, the Lane of High Hopes, and ran out the rest of the life in him" (Parker 266). As an athlete, Cassidy competes as hard as he possibly can without worrying about the outcome. The phrase "the rest of the life in him" shows how hard he races and is extremely impressive. Quenton Cassidy is an elite athlete that manages to push himself to a place that no normal human being can accomplish.

"Another twenty,' Even though Denton said it seriously,... And they began it all again" (Parker 221). Cassidy had just run forty 400's and was already extremely tired after pushing himself to what he thought was his best. This quote really shows the character of Cassidy because even though he is tired he can smile about it and face the next twenty with courage and strength.

Connections:

As an athlete myself, I can personally connect to the character Quenton Cassidy. Everyday at practice it is necessary to always have a positive attitude so you will have positive results. Cassidy shows this continuously throughout the book by smiling through workouts even though he is running as hard as he possibly can. In races and practices an athlete should show strong character, I can easily relate to Cassidy on an athletic level because of the amount of work you must put in to become great.

Quenton Cassidy can represent any professional or collegiate athlete because of his desire to work hard and set goals for himself. Even though Cassidy's main goal throughout the book is to run a sub four minute mile however, the majority of the book is about how much he trains everyday to get there. This shows an inside look at athletes and show people that in order to be great you must put in a ton of work.

The Mystery of the Dog in the Nighttime

Theme Words: 

Fear, Betrayal, Persistence, Isolation, and Logic.

Quotations:

"I do not like people shouting at me. It makes me scared that they are going to hit me or touch me and I do not know what is going to happen" (Haddon 4). Christopher usually reacts to others yelling at him by hiding and covering his ears. This quote from Christopher tells us a whole lot about  his personality and proves to be a continuing problem that he faces throughout the story. 

"I knew that it meant "happy," like when I'm reading about the Apollo space missions, or when I am still awake at three or four in the morning and I can walk up and down the street and pretend that I am the only person in the world." (Haddon 2). Christopher connects to the emotions drawn on the page by talking about what he likes that makes him happy. Christopher loves being alone and also astronauts, he is able to connect what he likes to a picture of an emotion despite his disabilities.

Connections: 

Christopher is able to connect us to the world around us by showing us how some people with autism interact with the environment around them. People like Christopher sometime pick up hobbies or interests that influence how they act every day. Christopher loves math and shows us how he uses it on a day to day basis to influence his personality. This gives the reader a whole new outlook on people with disabilities.

Christopher absolutely loves to be alone and I can relate to this personally just not as extreme. Being alone gives Christopher time to think without others around him making him nervous. I like to be alone sometimes because I am able to think clearly and I believe it is the most efficient way of getting things done. Although I do not like being alone all the time like Christopher I can connect to Christopher and see why he likes to be alone.