The Colossus Rises discussion

Bringing into Storyworld: The author of the book brings the reader into the storyworld by saying, "On the morning I was scheduled to die, a large barefoot giant man with a bushy red beard waddled past my house. The thirty-degree temperature... Belching barefoot giants who look like Vikings are not normal in Belleville , Indiana" (pg. 1). This shows climate, time, types of people, where in the universe, and future prospects.

Point of view: In the beginning Jack is taken away and he thinks he was kidnapped and everyone there is crazy, also he passes out, this leaves the reader wanting to learn more. If it was 3rd person then the reader would know everything and know that the people at the Karai Institute are not crazy, but trying to save Jack’s life. The writer uses narrative to hook the reader in. He also uses it to have the reader know Jack’s impressions of the other characters.

Mood: When Jack finds out that the rest of the kids hate the place and want to escape, the mood is astonished. Since the kids have been pretending to like it so much, the mood really stands out. Also, before Jack finds out that the kids do not like the institute, the mood is suspicious, because Jack keeps getting weird code things like the message, Cass talking backwards to him, and when Marco gives Jack the card.

Tone: The tone of Jack on page 66 is disappointed. “Cass had a photo recall and could speak backwards at will. Aly was a hacker genius and a movie expert. Marco was Michael Jordan on steroids, without the steroids. I was chopped liver”(66). Jack feels disappointed and like a failure because everyone else has special super powers, but he has nothing. Even though Jack will probably get his powers soon, which he knows, right now he feels terrible.

Tone: In this scene, Jack's tone is fearful and worried. His friends are all talented. They are strong and smart. He can wreck a submarine. What's his special skill? He feels rejected and helpless compared to him. Also, he can hear a strange music and see strange visions that no one else seems to see or hear. This tone helps us to relate to him and to understand the storyline better.

Genre: The setting helps unveil the genre because the setting in some places is Atlantis. The POV does not help unveil the genre. The characters help unveil the genre because they have special powers from the G7W. The plot helps unveil the genre because they are searching for Atlantis and artifacts that make them fast, invisible, invincible, etc. Atlantis is real in this book, and so are super powers.

Genre: The parts of the story that determine it's genre are the setting and the objects/aspects of the story, for example, science and technology. In this book, the world outside of the Karai Institute is real and the stories and myths of Atlantis is real. The characters and the Karai Institute plus the last remaining part of Atlantis is fake, along with the vromaski. The science and advanced technology help fit this story into it's genre.

Ambiguity: What happened to Marco? This is ambiguous because after Marco falls into the volcano, no one knows what happened to him. The other select think that he is dead, and go into the volcano to get his body. I think Marco is still alive, and caught a handhold on the way down. Different people can think different things about this, which makes this ambiguous. I think that this is temporary ambiguity because the select will probably find Marco, dead or alive.

Ambiguity: Ambiguity is when you are in a state of not knowing. In the book, the four friends are in a state of ambiguity when they reach the top of the cliff. They hear a sound in the bushes and think that it is their friend, Torquin, but when they see the bottom half of the creature they realize that it is not human, and become confused on what the animal is, until it steps out, revealing itself to be a vromaski.

Setting: This storyworld takes place in modern times, on a remnant of Atlantis. Later, the storyworld will shift to Rhodes in Greece. Throughout the story, we go back into the past and see the history of Atlantis.

Choices: In the story, Jack McKinley and his friends were faced with the choice of going into a dark maze, or waiting for rescue, trapped in a cave. Because of the chance that the key to the seven artifacts that might save their lives are in the maze, they want to risk exploring the maze, but if they did, they may never come back. They decide to go off into the maze because of the hope of finding a cure to their disease and for the memory of their lost friend, Marco.

Choices, decisions, and consequences: Jack's choices are pull out the sword, or don't pull out the sword. Jack's decision is to pull the sword out of the Heptakiklos. The storyworld affects the consequences because Jack is trying to find loculi and Atlantis, so he pulls out the sword out of curiosity and because it might lead to finding Atlantis/the loculi. Jack ends up releasing a Griffin and having the Institute attacked while Cass is taken away, but the Griffin will lead the select to the first loculi.

Mundane Actions- Mundane actions can influence the story line greatly, because they can lead to consequences and chain-reaction-events. For example, out of curiosity, Jack pulled the sword from the stone and opened a hole in the space and time, releasing a griffin who kidnapped Cass.

Author’s Message: Do not get a big ego and try to do everything yourself. This was shown at the end of the book, when Jack trusted Marco with one of the 7 Atlantean artifacts. Thinking that this artifact has healed him and that he was strong enough to fend for himself, Marco uses the artifact to fly off, abandoning his friends. This not only put himself at risk to his sickness and other dangers, but now, his friends had to find Marco in addition to the other six artifacts, before the sickness kills him.

Theme/Author's Message: Everyone has a purpose.

In the end, Marco goes missing and takes an important artifact with him. Nobody knows where he is and the Karai Institute needs to find him before he dies of his genetic disease. Marco is vulnerable, because he needs treatment for his disease and the artifact he has is being hunted. This mystery and drama creates opurtunity for the author to write another book as a sequel to satisfy the readers thirst for answers. This is a spoiler.

HILLARY4PREZ