Doctor Martin's Shades Of Gray

My reaction to this novel is that it is breathtaking. This book showed me that this is a part of history that isn’t well know but needs to be. I never really knew about the millions of innocents murdered on the orders of Stalin. This book showed the inside life innocent people that had been put into the Gulag camps and what life was like. This book also shows how some people stick together during these hard times and look at the better things in life, while others don’t. The main part that I didn’t like about the book was the ending and how it didn’t say how they left the Gulag. It left my wondering if they got rescued, or if they just stayed on the

This book personally hit me on many different levels. When starting the book, I was aware of the general story; however, I had no idea I would relate to the book as much as I did. Before anyone discovered Martin was conscious of what was going on around him, he struggled with depression, and even attempted to take his own life. Martin felt his life was worthless and would have rather left the

This sends Dr. Martin over the edge because he does not have any support from his family or professionals and he attempts to kill Bob, this comes to another severe breakage of ethnical boundaries.

The plot is mostly about the narrator’s brother named Doodle and his health problems. I feel that the plot is good because it is sad & makes you feel bad for Doodle. When a book can get you emotionally involved, it tends to mean it’s good. The setting is in North Carolina. The story also mentions parts throughout Doodles life like his birth and times his brother picked on him.

Towards the end of the story, Doodle slowly passed away and brother was grieving. Everyone knew that Doodle was going to die, but no one cared about expressing who he is, showing that he belongs to this world, forever. Brother’s relationship towards Doodle at the end shows that he cared at the end, he has never had the feeling of losing a loved one. Spend as much time with family, you’ll never know how much you’ll miss them when they’re gone. So while they’re living in this world, make them feel loved and cared for, each and everyone has values as a human.

Some might claim the YA genre has grown to be too dark for its target audience. Meghan Gurdon, a firm believer of this idea, explains why she believes this in her article, “Darkness Too Visible”. Gurdon describes the experience of a mother of three in a bookstore looking to purchase a YA novel for one of her children, when she found herself leaving the bookstore empty-handed due to the content of the teen books. While teen books decades ago contained less violent/corrupted material, times have changed along with the genre. She is concerned that these books could have an effect on these young readers’ brains as they are merely transferring from childhood to adulthood. Gurdon still has faith that YA books would sell just as well and connect with young readers today without all of the dark subject matters discussed in them these days.

A few weeks ago, I finished reading your bestseller Between Shades of Gray which quickly became one of my top three favorite books ever. From the heartbreaking moments to the unique setting of the book, I could not put it down. I also was able to learn new information. I love this book so, so much, and I am definitely going to start reading some more of your amazing books!

There are many scenes of physical violence present in the text, both stated and implied. It begins with the aggression seen with McLendon upon his entry into the barber shop, building up to the crucial moment where they have taken Mayes, to the implied murder through the lack of description of what happened to Mayes, concluding with the domestic violence McLendon has with his passive and mothering wife. The action of killing Will Mayes has been omitted to keep our attention on the causes of the violence. This point of view is written in an observer’s field of perspective where the observer is all knowing of the circumstances and details of each scene. From the physical violent elements such as the stifling scene of the barber shop to the emotional violent elements of the characters, such as when McLendon says “Are you going to sit there and let a black son rape a white woman on the streets of Jefferson?”(Faulker 50)

The book starts with Will talking about himself, he is a pilot who crashed a plane three times .Will survived the plane accident three times but this time he lies in the hospital and in coma. While he is on coma Will talks about himself, about the past. Will has two nieces Annie and Suzanne. After the accident Annie comes to visit him at the hospital there Annie has a friend her name is Eva and she is a nurse. Eva tells Annie to talk with her uncle because it is good for him and probably he can hear everything so she begins to talk with him and tell her stories and everything about what happens to her. Annie has a younger sister Suzanne, she is a model who has been disappeared for a long time with Netmaker Gus. The reason why Annie came to Toronto was to find her sister. Will talks about his friends Joe and Gregor and about his problem with alcohol. Will talks about Marius a person who is involved in drugs and trafficking. Marius threated him because of Suzanne. Marius beats Will and breaks his leg. Will plans to kill Marius, he shoots him but he does not die. While will lies in hospital and in coma Annie continues to tell him about herself and Suzanne. Annie is trying to find out what has happened to her sister and Gus while she is searching

Dark uses the conversation between Janet and Martin to prove her theme of this story - Do not take anything for-granted. Janet does not take anything for-granted and spends as much time as possible with her son before he dies. Martin on the other hand does not, he takes everything he has for-granted and just leaves. He does not stick around and never once comes to visit his son. Because of Martins selfishness, he will live the rest of his life full of regrets.

not knowing exactly everything about the man showing he is judging him based on only limited information. Opposite of how he feels about his uncle, Will was introduced as an orphan as his immediate family had died which forced him to have to come live with his aunt which clearly takes a toll on him, “Forget? Will swallowed hard. It was fine for Doc Martin to talk. The war hadn’t ruined his life.’’ (Reeder 2)This reveals Wills feelings on his immediate family as he obviously cares and misses them deeply and he seems to take the sorrow of not having them no longer on his uncle because he is unable to let other "family" into his heart. Similarly on Salvas end his internal thoughts are very consecutive as he us overwhelmed with the thought that

Before the family gets too far in their awkward journey, O’Connor tips off her readers of the eventual future for the family. Foreshadowing is used when the family passes an old burial ground with six,

This story shows how close brothers can get to each other, but they can also be very selfish and headstrong. The death of Doodle was a lot of the brothers fault because he made Doodle come with him and left him in the dust. Brother was at fault for his Doodle's death.

If one man never steps forward to show all the others that change is possible, nothing will ever change. When you look back at history of the American civil rights movement, Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are still often two of the first names even someone of today’s society may think of. They were, and still are, some of the most influential men to ever live. As young African-American men living during a time of harsh global, but most importantly, national racism and prejudice; teaching effective techniques to achieve peace and equality to others was extremely difficult for Dr. King and Malcolm X.

The film takes a turn when Lou overhears Will’s parents talking about Will wanting to end his life, that his six months of trying are almost over. Lou discovers that she was hired to change his mind about ending his life. Lou leaves abruptly and talks with her sister, Katrina, who tells her to make his time left on Earth filled with happy memories. This inspires Lou to research activities and support systems for Will in a final attempt to change his mind about the physician-assisted suicide. Although the activities are selected with the best intentions, several problems arise which spoil the whole day for Will (e.g. the wheels of Will’s wheelchair becoming stuck in the deep mud at the horse track).