memorykeepersdaughter

The Memory Keeper's Daughter Rules: 1) If you don't do the work you will take double jobs next week. 2) If you don't do the work you aren't aloud to take part of the discussion or the food eating for the next two weeks 3) If you break the rules more than three time you get a zero for the assignment 4) Don't use sparknotes unless you have asked your group about the story don't be lazy to reread it

__Group Jobs for Week One:__ Group Summarizer: Roger Group Leader: Shelby Group Quotation Finder and Questioner: Melody

Group Leader Discussion: David Henry and Caroline Gill are two very interesting characters in this book. David is a doctor and has a wife named Norah and she has twins in the beginning. David wants to have perfect twins but he notices that his baby girl (Phoebe) has a certain defect in her body. It is believed that she has Down syndrome. David showed a side of him that is very devious and thus he had sent his daughter away for an “adoption.” We thought that he reminded me of my friend who will do anything to make his life easier and doesn’t think if the aftermath of his actions. We also can’t stand that he would just give the child away and lead his wife about Phoebe dieing the nerve of Henry is something we can’t stand.

Caroline is actually the better of the two characters she was brave to take in Phoebe and attempts to raise her. She actually used to love David but that changed when he willingly gave her permission to give her away. She will still work for him though and not expose the fact that he gave Phoebe to her. We think her goal is to raise the child and then prove to Henry that she would live and still be a great child. The one thing that Caroline needs to get over is the fact that she still might love Henry and that he still might go for her. We think that she should move on and leave the selfish man to himself.

Questions for Memory Keepers Daughter week one


 * 1) Do you think that he made the decision to send her away for her own good or for his?
 * 2) How did you feel when David gave Phoebe away? Do you agree with his decision?
 * 3) Why do you think Caroline decided to raise Phoebe on her own?
 * 4) Did she do the right thing?
 * 5) How do you think you would feel if you were Norah?

“I wake to sleep” "He found himself wanting to protect her instead, to carry her up flights of stairs, to wrap her in blankets, to bring her cups of custard. 'I'm not an invalid,' she protested each time, laughing. 'I'm not some fledgling you discovered on the lawn.” “Our little daughter died as she was born”

Group summary: For our group discussion, everybody did their parts. The biggest controversy we had was why David(husband of Norah) gave Phoebe(daughter with down syndrome) away. We discussed our views of this issue, and they were very similar. We were all appalled at how he lied to his wife, and had similar views. We all agreed if we were Norah(the wife of David), we would be shocked if he told us that one of our children had died. This was a rash action, because it was all one-sided, he didn't have enough time to think this through, and he didn't consult anyone else.

One quote really stood out to me, and that was, "Our little daughter died as she was born." It told how he lied to her, and for some reason didn't want to raise the child because it had down-syndrome. We all understood that part of the book deeply. The book club meeting was productive, and informative. Most of all, the book really was interesting and philosophical to me in endless ways.

__Group Jobs Week 2:__ Group Leader: Roger Group Summarizer: Melody Group Quotation Finder and Questioner: Shelby

"Yes they would move on. This would be her gift, to David and to Paul. Phoebe she would keep alive in her heart." "She knew him, and she understood this in her body, in her relief, before she could formulate it in thought. Then it was so bizarre she couldn't believe it." "//we are well, Phoebe and I,// it had said. //So far, she does not have any problems with her heart."// "But it wouldn't fix things, Norah, to have another baby. That's not the right reason." " Norah had always imagined herself to be, handling every situation with relaxed and instinctive calm. Norah admired her, and envied her too."

1) Why do you think Norah is still upset about Phoebe and moving into the new house after almost a year of the incident? 2) What do you think Caroline will do with Phoebe and her Down syndrome? 3) Do you think Norah wants another baby to replace the memory of Phoebe? 4) Why do you think Caroline is sending David pictures and updates about her and Phoebe? 5) Why do you think the relationship between Norah and David are going downward?

Group Leader: This book is not difficult, nor easy, it is a book well-suited for a 9th grader. The Memory Keeper's Daughter has conversational language, because much of the book is written from 1st person, although it takes the perspective of many people.In this book, there are unknown words to me every several pages, but other than that, it is understandable. This book is an adult book, but it looks like it can appeal to the high school age group.

__Group Jobs Week 3:__ Group Leader: Group Summarizer: Group Quotation Finder and Questioner: Roger

Quote Finder: "So it was love, Caroline thought." (160) "I could never capture this." (Howard 186) "Wouldn't that be wonderful, if it could happen?(-Norah 195) "When I play, I feel like i'm doing that-giving something back." (Paul 200) "Got any more of that stuff? (Paul)

Roger Questioner: Why was David so emotional at Paul's concert? Why did David suddenly want to know more about Phoebe? Why did Paul do drugs with Duke? Is Norah a rescponcible wife? Explain why or why not. Do you think Caroline made the right decision in saving all of the money for Phoebe that David sent to her?

Shelby and Melody Questioner: 1) Why do you think David is against Paul studying music? Do you think that he wants Paul to pursue in his studies and find a cure for the death of his sister? Explain 2) Do you think Norah had the affair in order to prove to David that he is not paying attention to her? Or did she do it out of her own thrill? 3) Do you think Paul did drugs only to rebel against his father for his lack of encouragement towards music? 4) How do you think David found out about the affair? Why do you think he won't divorce her? 5) Do you think Caroline will live up to Al's excitement of life, or will she stay with Phoebe and keep her in the shadows of her problems?

Quotess

“She left her clothes on the sand: she did not care about that either, that anyone might see them”

“Photography is all about secrets,” David said after a few minutes, lifting the photo with a pair of tongs and slipping it into the fixer. “The secrets we all have and will never tell”

“Music is like you touch the pulse of the world. Music is always happening and sometimes you get to touch it for a while, and when you do you know that everything’s connected to everything else”

“Moonlight poured in through the windows in the gallery space. Paul had stopped playing. David gazed at the moon, higher in the sky now, yet distinct and sharply rendered against the darkness.”

“She put her pen down, thinking of Phoebe in her white dress, singing with the choir, holding the kitten.”

Group leader discussion The tone and mood of this book, we believe, is very depressing. The plot of the book is very sad. The characters have such messed up lives, it’s very sad. Although it’s a sad book the story line is very interesting and really sucks you into the book.

Summarizer: This week Melody and I had to rewrite Rogers quotes and questions so that took about 30 minutes of or time. While we were doing that we ate Smarties, and thought of the book. We both agreed that it was very depressing but well written. We ended up giving roger an essay which made me laugh when i old him over the weekend. Otherwise we worked hard and got the work done by the end of the period. Roger extra work: Most interesting character: The most interesting character, in my opinion, is Paul. The story covers Paul's life in-depth. The story demonstrates his life from the moment he was born, to his childhood, and through his teenage years. Paul is the character with the most information about in the book. The book truly tells the life of Paul. Paul is interesting for one solid reason. It is because you can see how his personality changes with his age. As a kid, he was naive. He changes into a teenager who is bold, and not afraid to try new things. Paul is a person who can and will change with time and age. Before you know it, we could become an old, kind, and well respected member of the society. Roger's Future predictions: One of the most exciting things about reading a book is you never know what’s going to happen next. Well, if you did then you would be called the author. Anyways, the book leaves a sense of mystery. It doesn’t directly tell you what’s happening. What will happen next? One of the major event topics I would like to discuss is Phoebe. At birth, she was given away to Caroline by David. He didn’t do it out of spite, but because he saw that she had down syndrome. Norah was told that Phoebe had died as she was born. She never really got over that, and would talk about her from time to time. Mr.Henry would get nervous, and try to change the topic when she brought it up. Keeping a child hidden from its mother is a very difficult task, David would send letters with money to support Phoebe, and would have to hide them. In the near future, she will probably find out about this, and confront David. Paul loves music. He wants to make that into his career. David does not. Paul wants to go to “Julliard”, apparently some music showing. David doesn’t know if he should let Paul go. In the near future, they will undoubtedly have a dispute on going, and possibly Paul, confused, and bewildered, will run away. David will wonder if he should have given Paul 100 percent of his encouragement, instead of being against it. Mariage is a wonderful thing, Divorice is not. Norah cheated on David, and he eventually discovers this. They plan on getting a divorce. Norah will probably go on to marry Howard, the man who she cheated on David with. David will probably marry Caroline, because later on, Caroline admits that she loves David. David must love Caroline, because he trusted her with his daughter. I would like to discuss the future of Caroline. She was the person who David trusted his daughter to. She meets him at a convention years later, and tells him that she loves him. He didn’t know this, and is surprised. After he and Norah separate, I believe he will marry Caroline, and will be together forever.

Week 4 Jobs: Group leader: Shelby Quote Finder and Questioner: Melody Food Bringer: Roger Summerier: Roger Write a .5 spaced size 8 font summarizing the book and predicting the future of the book has to be exactly a page: Roger

__ Questioner: __

1. The more time passed, the harder it became for David to tell Norah the truth about Phoebe. Did his reasons for not telling her change over time?

2. How do you think that their marriage would change if David tells Norah the truth?

3. Do you think their relationship would have survived if they had kept Phoebe or would raising her have caused other problems?

4. Who was at fault in David and Norah's marriage falling apart?

5. Why do you think Caroline and Al were able to be happier than Norah and David?

Group leader:

On ongoing event that happens in the book when David takes pictures of events. Reasons for why he does this is because he tries to erase the memory of his daughter. Using the camera and take memories is a way to fill the void of Phoebe “dieing” also so he could maybe see her and show her that she never missed a moment in heir lives.

Group Summarizer We asked the questions, explained the quotes, and fully elaborated on what is happening now. As of now, Shelby and Melody already know what happens at the end. I'm the only one who has read up to their required part. Next week, we will be done. The climax of the book is approaching, and I would love to find out what happens by reading the book.

We talked about how life would have been different if Norah raised Phoebe. The session was very "Philosophical", because we tried to expand and "read between then lines". We did this to fully understand every question and quote. We spent most of our time focusing on the themes. I felt a little inferior that day, because I'm the only one who doesn't have a in-depth perception of the book, or know what's going to happen next. We covered all of the question, quotes, and themes, and I would say myself that this was a very solid meeting.

Here is a quick list of important events I predict will occur: Norah will find out about Phoebe Norah and David will get a divorice Paul will excel in his music career Phoebe and Paul will meet each other as adults.

Week 5: Group leader: Roger Group summarizer: Melody Group Quote and question finder: Shelby

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000105 EndHTML:0000005779 StartFragment:0000002664 EndFragment:0000005743 Questions: 1) When did Norah meet Frederic? Would she still have married him even if David were alive? 2) How would you have reacted if you were Norah when she found about how Phoebe was alive? 3) How would you have reacted if you were Paul with just breaking up with his girlfriend father dead and now Phoebe? Explain. 4) Why do you think Caroline is so against Phoebe and Robert getting married? 5) Why do you think if Al expected the car crash then why would he quit if he new?

Quotes: “//Get up,// she told him briskly, flinging open curtains and windows, sweeping dirty dishes into the sink. //Get up// ,”

“Her gestures were not fast, but they were efficient and focused. Paul could only imagine her at the copy shop, doing her work, joking with her friends, pausing now and then to take pleasure in the rainbow of paper or a finished job”

“ ‘I don’t think Paul ever got over David’s leaving’ ‘And did you?’ Norah looked at Bree, her short spiky hair and clear skin, her green eyes calm and penetrating. She looked away”

“That person, it appeared, was Phoebe, who seemed to brighten, awash in some internal light, when Robert was around,”

“Norah might have wept. She longed suddenly to talk with David. All these years he had missed her too.”

Group Leader: Yes, I would recommend this book to my peers. I would because it is a completely unique type of story. The topic has been discussed less effectively in other books because it shows the point of view from several characters, which most other books don't. This should be added to the school's curriculum because it is an incredibly interesting book, and teaches that you should never judge a person by the cover, or in this case, how they look.. The story was very interesting, and had a wonderful and touching ending.

Group summary This week at book club we discussed the questions and quotes. We talked about the book and what we generally thought about it. Shelby and I really enjoyed reading this book. Although Roger thought it was a girl book even though it’s really not. We think this would be a good book for anyone.