Two weeks ago I was ranting about how cheap it was that we skip ahead in the book four months right after the break up. For a reader such as I, one who really doesn't care that much about the book but more about the writer at this point, I knew that I was missing something. Especially during that first month, it would have been a real challenge to portray how Bella reacted to this break up. That being said, this week's section makes me want criticize the author for not skipping enough. I realize know that this first couple weeks of January are completely pointless. It's just a turning point where Bella is getting her head out of the sand for awhile.
It's important to note that she's not doing this because she wants to, but only to get her father off her back. I said it last week, and this week Bella confirms it herself, "It was probably true. She was at least the first person I thought of when I wanted to avoid Charlie."
Jessica is skeptical, and more accurately she is reluctant. Not without good reason either. I don't know how women put up with this kind of behavior but men don't tolerate the kind of bullshit that Bella has pulled on Mike and Jessica. They were her friends, they used to hang out, and then she got the boyfriend. Once that happened, the rest of the world no longer existed. As we saw at the end of the first novel, she couldn't even tell Mike she was unavailable Edward did that for her. Now, she wants friendship back? Or at least that is what it should seem like to Jessica. A guy in Bella's situation would be out of luck. Eventually his old friends would come back around but the very first time they were asked? All Bella has done is shown Jessica that she doesn't rate that high at all, if Edward came back she would be out on her ass again.
Jessica picks Bella up, seriously. After being ignored in favor of cooler people for almost a year now, Bella finally lowers herself to asking Jessica to a movie but only on the condition that Jessica drive? Jessica agrees, but from the tone of her lines it seems like it's more out of pity than anything else. I suppose that makes sense.
What doesn't make sense is the next five to six pages. It's not bad writing, it's confusing, or illogical, it just simply is. It's the story of how they went to the movies. Bella walks out a couple of times, because it reminds her of Edward, but even those scenes aren't really exposing anything. It just happens. I wonder if Meyer could have won here but to be honest I don't think she could have. If she skipped this whole part I would be complaining that she skipped it but in seeing what she has written I would have liked to wonder what she jumped over. I suppose the best solution would have been to condense the entire section into a paragraph or two.
The important part of the story is what happens after the movie when they want something to eat. Let's get this right, the movie is a complete non-issue. It matters nothing to the story or the plot only to shoe horn them into Port Angeles so that they can have a confrontation outside a bar called "One-Eyed Pete's."
Outside of the bar are four men. Jessica walks straight ahead not trying to draw attention to herself, it's a look you put on your face when walking down a city side walk populated by people who "need jumper cables" or "35 cents to get to the next town, my brother was in a car accident you see.*" Jessica is wary because she's 17 (or 18) and walking by four men. It's been established that she's attractive, aside from the vampires probably the most attractive woman at the school, so she doesn't want to get hooted at. The other thing is that outside of a bar, four men hanging out, are probably just having a smoke.
Bella thinks she knows them. We remember of course the four men that were "harassing" her that both Edward and Bella wanted to kill. Bella truly was frightened that day. The situation sticks out because it was legitimately a tense scene, but she wants to go over and say hi. She begins to do so, to Jessica's objections. There are several pages of her fighting with herself until she hears Edward's voice, "Bella, stop this right now!"
It's a memory, she realizes this to her credit. The thing about the four men? Well it turns out they weren't so bad after all, "Can I help you with something? You look lost."
It's not the horror of Jessica that Bella approached the four guys hanging outside of a bar, but the mysterious disembodied voice that warns her away from...nothing. The guys offer to buy her a drink, but Bella declines. She's too young she says. Which is true, but she can hang out outside of the bar right? I used to sneak my underage friends into the patios of bars all the time, it's a little different from this though I'll admit, but we might want to give credit to Bella for at least saying hi.
Or we would if she didn't express such disappointment that the four men were not the same ones from the previous year, "These were not the dangerous** men that I remembered. They were probably just nice guys. Safe. I lost interest." If it was them what was her plan? To tell them that her ex-boyfriend wanted to kill them for something I'm sure they don't remember from last year?
It would be nice to get some sort of explanation out of Bella for her actions, if just for Jessica's sake. She's angry at Bella, "You are so odd, Bella Swan. I feel like I don't know who you are."
My question for her is, "did you ever know who she was?" That aside, another real flaw in Bella's character is shown here: that of narcissism. She really doesn't seem to understand or care that Jessica is upset with her. Bella never really gives it a second thought, except to wonder at how much Jessica might be angry at her. It's important because it's just like a politician's apology for cheating on their spouse or whatever they did, it's not about them feeling sorry for their actions, it's about them feeling sorry if they have offended someone. Bella isn't sad that her completely out of the blue actions may have offended Jessica, she's worried that Jessica is mad at her for some reason.
It doesn't matter really, because I've written more about it than she has. She just goes to sleep waiting for tomorrow. The whole chapter was a big nothing.
_________________________
*In both cases they just want money and not for the stated purpose.
**I still contest the "dangerous" portion from the last book. Ultimately they were just a couple of guys hollaring at a pretty girl that walked by. Sure Edward read their thoughts and said they wanted to do things to her, but the separation between what a person wants to do and what they are going to do is vast. I don't care what Immanuel Kant says about it.
It's important to note that she's not doing this because she wants to, but only to get her father off her back. I said it last week, and this week Bella confirms it herself, "It was probably true. She was at least the first person I thought of when I wanted to avoid Charlie."
Jessica is skeptical, and more accurately she is reluctant. Not without good reason either. I don't know how women put up with this kind of behavior but men don't tolerate the kind of bullshit that Bella has pulled on Mike and Jessica. They were her friends, they used to hang out, and then she got the boyfriend. Once that happened, the rest of the world no longer existed. As we saw at the end of the first novel, she couldn't even tell Mike she was unavailable Edward did that for her. Now, she wants friendship back? Or at least that is what it should seem like to Jessica. A guy in Bella's situation would be out of luck. Eventually his old friends would come back around but the very first time they were asked? All Bella has done is shown Jessica that she doesn't rate that high at all, if Edward came back she would be out on her ass again.
Jessica picks Bella up, seriously. After being ignored in favor of cooler people for almost a year now, Bella finally lowers herself to asking Jessica to a movie but only on the condition that Jessica drive? Jessica agrees, but from the tone of her lines it seems like it's more out of pity than anything else. I suppose that makes sense.
What doesn't make sense is the next five to six pages. It's not bad writing, it's confusing, or illogical, it just simply is. It's the story of how they went to the movies. Bella walks out a couple of times, because it reminds her of Edward, but even those scenes aren't really exposing anything. It just happens. I wonder if Meyer could have won here but to be honest I don't think she could have. If she skipped this whole part I would be complaining that she skipped it but in seeing what she has written I would have liked to wonder what she jumped over. I suppose the best solution would have been to condense the entire section into a paragraph or two.
The important part of the story is what happens after the movie when they want something to eat. Let's get this right, the movie is a complete non-issue. It matters nothing to the story or the plot only to shoe horn them into Port Angeles so that they can have a confrontation outside a bar called "One-Eyed Pete's."
Outside of the bar are four men. Jessica walks straight ahead not trying to draw attention to herself, it's a look you put on your face when walking down a city side walk populated by people who "need jumper cables" or "35 cents to get to the next town, my brother was in a car accident you see.*" Jessica is wary because she's 17 (or 18) and walking by four men. It's been established that she's attractive, aside from the vampires probably the most attractive woman at the school, so she doesn't want to get hooted at. The other thing is that outside of a bar, four men hanging out, are probably just having a smoke.
Bella thinks she knows them. We remember of course the four men that were "harassing" her that both Edward and Bella wanted to kill. Bella truly was frightened that day. The situation sticks out because it was legitimately a tense scene, but she wants to go over and say hi. She begins to do so, to Jessica's objections. There are several pages of her fighting with herself until she hears Edward's voice, "Bella, stop this right now!"
It's a memory, she realizes this to her credit. The thing about the four men? Well it turns out they weren't so bad after all, "Can I help you with something? You look lost."
It's not the horror of Jessica that Bella approached the four guys hanging outside of a bar, but the mysterious disembodied voice that warns her away from...nothing. The guys offer to buy her a drink, but Bella declines. She's too young she says. Which is true, but she can hang out outside of the bar right? I used to sneak my underage friends into the patios of bars all the time, it's a little different from this though I'll admit, but we might want to give credit to Bella for at least saying hi.
Or we would if she didn't express such disappointment that the four men were not the same ones from the previous year, "These were not the dangerous** men that I remembered. They were probably just nice guys. Safe. I lost interest." If it was them what was her plan? To tell them that her ex-boyfriend wanted to kill them for something I'm sure they don't remember from last year?
It would be nice to get some sort of explanation out of Bella for her actions, if just for Jessica's sake. She's angry at Bella, "You are so odd, Bella Swan. I feel like I don't know who you are."
My question for her is, "did you ever know who she was?" That aside, another real flaw in Bella's character is shown here: that of narcissism. She really doesn't seem to understand or care that Jessica is upset with her. Bella never really gives it a second thought, except to wonder at how much Jessica might be angry at her. It's important because it's just like a politician's apology for cheating on their spouse or whatever they did, it's not about them feeling sorry for their actions, it's about them feeling sorry if they have offended someone. Bella isn't sad that her completely out of the blue actions may have offended Jessica, she's worried that Jessica is mad at her for some reason.
It doesn't matter really, because I've written more about it than she has. She just goes to sleep waiting for tomorrow. The whole chapter was a big nothing.
_________________________
*In both cases they just want money and not for the stated purpose.
**I still contest the "dangerous" portion from the last book. Ultimately they were just a couple of guys hollaring at a pretty girl that walked by. Sure Edward read their thoughts and said they wanted to do things to her, but the separation between what a person wants to do and what they are going to do is vast. I don't care what Immanuel Kant says about it.
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