Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The end is only the beginning...

I apologize for how long this blog is, you will have to either love the series with unfathomable depths, or you will need to care about me somewhat to take the time out of your busy schedule to read this entire blog. I have now read the twilight series 3 times. I know, I’m pathetic. I have a very addictive personality, and when I find something that I like, I kind of get obsessed. There is something magical about this series, it is super addictive and it can make a reader out of anyone. I have talked to multiple people who are not “readers” who have absolutely eaten these books up. One of my best friends, Leigh, for example, can name the books she’s read in her whole life (I can’t remember what books I’ve read in the year 2008, let alone my whole life), but she is reading through these books like it is no ones business.—Ok, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point. She not only loves the story, but the actual act of picking up the books and reading! I love it! Like I said there is something magical about the love between Bella and Edward and the other great characters in this saga. I’ve tried to think of how I can complete this blog without spoilers, but it can’t be done, so this blog will be totally full of SPOILERS. Therefore if you have not read Breaking Dawn and you plan to, don’t read this blog, unless you just like ruining good things for yourself. You just can’t be mad at me because, I warned you!

Spoiler Alert--

This book is jam-packed with craziness. First, all of our hopes and dreams come true, Bella and Edward get married. They go on their “real” honeymoon (brown chicken brown cow). Then, what should happen? They get pregnant. Crazy! But of course it’s not a normal pregnancy, she has that baby in a month (what?!?). The whole month is Edward, Jacob and the Cullen’s watching Bella being killed by the monster baby. Edward of course doesn’t think about what Bella might want, he just knows that he can’t live without Bella so therefore, he wants to take care of the problem, well over Rosalie’s pile of ashes. During this time Rosalie and Bella become friends for the baby’s sake, which is a 180 degree turn since Rosalie doesn’t like Bella throughout the entire series. Jacob offhandedly mentions that maybe the baby wants to suck blood like its father, this makes sense to the vampires that maybe it has a diet more like its father than its mother. She immediately gets better whenever she starts drinking blood (which as we remember Bella gets woozy at the smell of blood let alone drinking cups at a time), but pregnancy does weird things to women especially ½ vampire babies. After the baby is born, Bella has emergency vampirization done, but only after we think she’s dead. Whenever she wakes up from burning for 2 ½ days, she is a beautiful newborn vampire, but she does not act like a normal newborn vampire, she has self-control and can think through her actions rationally. Because of her super self control, Bella is able to almost pick up her life right where she left off, she’s got Edward, she now has her baby Renesmee, Jacob is happy because he has imprinted on Renesmee (Nessie), and Charlie has been introduced to their world (with no real details).<- crazy train! Of course that is only about half way through the book. Alice sees a vision of the Volturi coming to destroy the Cullen family, therefore they have to prepare for their arrival. Alice and Jasper leave the Cullen family to protect themselves (really?!?) and give the Cullen family a job to gather enough vampires to make the Volturi pause and listen to their side of the story, that they have not created an immortal child. They only have to prove that Renesmee is half human and therefore she grows and matures and is not a threat to the secret of the vampire world. They end up gathering 23 (29 including the Cullen family) vampires and the wolves have devoted themselves to protect Nessie because of Jacob. Bella wants to train in combat to be an asset to the fight with the Volturi (and why not?), Edward doesn’t want to train her so she has to find others who are willing. Kate, one of the Denali sisters (another vegetarian coven) helps Bella to find and develop her brain shield. Kate teaches her to stretch her shield to others instead of just her own mind, even if only for a short time. The Volturi come, they pause just like the Cullen’s hope, but the reason they paused was because of the wolves (Aro wishes for guard dogs). The Cullen’s are able to present their case that Renesmee is not an immortal child, but is the biological child of Edward and Bella. Aro gets Edwards perspective, which would get every single thought that had been thought around him (except Bella of course). The ancients discuss and are about to sentence Edward, Bella, and Renesmee to death, when Alice shows up with a man/vampire mix (manpire?) and therefore the Cullen’s were able to prove that Renesmee will not be a hazard to the vampire world. Since the Volturi wanted all of the vampires with special gifts, how were they stopped in the end, it was not truth that stopped them. The reason that they did not attack in the end was because of Bella. The wolves stopped them, the witnesses helped their cause, but because of Bella’s shield the ancients were out powered. Bella’s shield caused the Volturi’s offensive players to not be able to strike before the deliberation was finished (Jane and Alec-the witch twins) and therefore they were on even playing field. Usually when the Volturi come to punish, the witch twins either torture them or take away their senses all together, and therefore the vampires on trial are dead before they even knew what hit them, but this time, Bella’s shield kept that at bay. The Volturi leave the vampires in peace, and everyone is happy. Well except there was one casualty, but she was kind of a “not nice person,” so no one but her sisters really mourned for her. In the very end of the book, Bella saves the day, they find that Renesmee will live a long life, and they live happily ever after. Also, Bella removes the shield on her mind and shows Edward her thoughts. Edward for the first time of their relationship could hear Bella’s thoughts and they know that they will be together forever. Yay! Praise for Breaking Dawn: The number 1 best concept of Breaking Dawn is how Meyer split the book into 3 different sections. The Epilogue of Eclipse ends with us in Jacob Black’s head, the first time I read this it scared me. I was upset, I thought, if we are in Jacob’s head the whole 4th book I’m going to be so upset. My dreads were confirmed when “book 1-Bella” started, that meant there will be other books and it won’t be Bella’s perspective. How distressing. In hindsight, I realized that the 3 different books within Breaking Dawn was a great idea. During Jacob’s book, what would be going on in Bella’s head? Probably just a lot of “I love my little nudger!” There was no action going on in the house with the vampires except watching Bella’s health deteriorate quickly. With Jacob we get to see the struggle with the wolves, the splitting of the packs, and we still are able to know what is going on with Bella, Edward and the rest of the Cullen family.

Meyer attained a fantastic literary success with character differentiation. Jacob’s book sounds like Jacob. The actual themes of the books change with the character change. When the reader starts Breaking Dawn, Bella’s book continues where we left off at Eclipse, it is like there was not break, the book is the next breath, no difference. Once we are in Jacob’s mind, it is sarcastic, it is angry, it is different. Jacob’s thought are Jacob, not just the same sound as Bella, it’s almost as if you pick up another book. To me, that’s awesome! He says things like “So, I’d just walk in, see Sam’s precious evidence for myself, and then challenge Edward to a duel. I snorted. The parasite’d probably get a kick out of the theatrics of it.” Also, I loved his chapter titles, they made me laugh… like “Sure as hell didn’t see that one coming” or “Why didn’t I just walk away? Oh right. Because I’m an idiot” or “What do I look like? The Wizard of Oz? You need a brain? You need a heart? Go ahead. Take mine. Take everything I have.” They are so Jacob. I also loved that he didn’t have a table of contents like Bella always does. The disorganization also screams Jacob.

The number 2 best part of Breaking Dawn, but also the entire series is the depth of the Characters. Not only are the main characters someone you feel like you know, but also all of the sub-characters are individuals with character traits that everyone can feel drawn to. When speaking to my friends about the supporting characters, they all have their different favorites. Each character has his/her own personality, which draws different people to them. With the vampires, Emmett has one of the best personalities of any supporting character I’ve ever seen. He is sarcastic, funny, and like a true big brother to the Cullen family. Alice is a true friend to Bella, I love that she sticks out her tongue, and does little things that annoy the other characters-especially Edward. He says repeatedly, “How can someone so small be so hugely annoying.” Jasper talks like the time he’s from, like a southern gentleman. He always says Bella’s name when he speaks to her, I enjoy that about his personality. Bella will say, “Hey Jasper.” And Jasper says, “Yes, Bella?” There are not a lot of people out there that say people’s name when they are talking to them, to me it’s very old fashioned-and I love it! Esme is so loving and caring, even though she is only a few years older than most of the characters, she truly has the mother’s instinct and love for her family. The others have great personalities too, but these were my favorite Cullens!

The number 3 best concept is actually from the series not just Breaking Dawn. All 4 books took the focus of a classic and built Bella and Edward’s story off of it. Twilight is the falling in love story, and therefore mirrors Pride and Prejudice. New Moon is Romeo and Juliet, Eclipse is Wuthering Heights, and Breaking Dawn is A Midsummer Night's Dream. The middle two books scream their themes to me. Especially New Moon with Edward planning to end his existence because he believes Bella to be dead, just like Romeo and Juliet. The same with Eclipse, the love triangle is parallel to Wuthering Heights. Parallelism-I love it!

Criticism of Breaking Dawn: Whenever Bella becomes a vampire I feel like her personality changes. As the narrator, she has to tell so many “vampire details” that we lose some of the story. The little things in the previous books that scream BELLA! are lost with new details of being a vampire. My opinion is that we also lose Edward a little bit at the 3rd section of the book. The focus is on Bella and Renesmee. I don’t know about you, but he’s why I read Twilight, I want to hear about Edward!

Another issue I have with Breaking Dawn is that the book feels rushed. I might be reading too much into the book, but I feel like Meyer should have taken another 6 months to a year and dealt with the book a little more. I could be wrong, because I can’t think of anything I would change, but I just feel like the book had to rush to an end. Just an opinion, maybe not even a correct opinion, but it’s my blog, I can say what I want!

I have spoken with quite a few Twilight fans (not Twi-hards by any means), that were very confused by the plot. They were weirded out by Bella getting pregnant and having a baby. Of course, I’m from a smaller town than Forks, so I can understand them getting married and having a honeymoon baby, that’s pretty much what people do in Fountain Lake, Arkansas! I know some complained that Bella became a different person because now, she’s a wife and a mother and is only removed from high school for around 4-6 months. I say to that, it’s the 21 century, kids are having kids like crazy and have been for a long time. We had multiple girls pregnant all throughout my high school career, at least Bella and Edward were married and established (financially anyway) before they started their little family.

In conclusion, one idea that is popping up all over the internet is will there be a book 5??? “They’ve been seriously shaken; their confidence is shattered. But, yet, I’m sure they’ll recover from the blow someday. And then… I imagine they’ll try to pick us off separately.” (Edward) --This is a quote from Breaking Dawn that takes place after the confrontation with the Volturi. Although Stephanie Meyer has stated that there is not going to be another book to the Twilight Saga, this quote leaves the possibilities wide open. Meyer says on her web page that there is no more to the story. She says you can’t have a good story without conflict and now that Bella is a vampire, Jacob is happy, the wolves are happy, there’s just not any conflict left. But, if she finds a story later, this will have to be where it comes from. As I discussed in my Eclipse blog, the Volturi are in the Twilight Saga from the beginning and I think it would be quite a great story to come back like 150 years later, of course, Bella & Edward being vampires will not have changed. Nessie and Jacob will be married and have puppies (haha). Of course Nessie will be grown, but still look young and Jacob will look the same if he has continued to transform into a wolf this entire time. Why not have the Volturi come after Alice, Bella, Edward, and Nessie for their talents? I would also love for the Romanians to get involved and over throw the Volturi. Haha, ok, so I’m no Stephanie Meyer, but it’s a way for our Twilight dreams to continue.

Thanks for your time and patience, I know this was a long blog, but it was a long book. Please let me know what you thought about this blog and Breaking Dawn if you have read it. Here are some great quotes from Breaking Dawn, there are quite a few of them, which makes this blog REALLY long. Good times!

Stop fidgeting, Bella. Please try to remember that you’re not confessing to a murder here. (Edward)

Sometimes it was so easy to forget that I was kissing a vampire. (Bella)

I opened my eyes and found his open, too, staring at my face. It made no sense when he looked at me that way. Like I was the prize rather than the outrageously lucky winner. (Bella)

Bachelor parties are designed for those who are sad to see the passing of their single days. I couldn’t be more eager to have mine behind me. So there’s really no point. (Edward)

How different it would be when he didn’t need to worry about me anymore. What would he do with all his free time? He’d have to get a new hobby. (Bella)

I’ve been waiting a century to marry you, Miss Swan. (Edward)

If you don’t send Edward out, we’re coming in after him! (Emmett)

Jasper? What do vampires do for bachelor parties? You’re not taking him to a strip club, are you? (Bella)

I’ve only allotted so much time to make you stunning, Bella – you might have taken better care of my raw material. (Alice)

I tried to comprehend, through the film of tears blinding me, the surreal fact that this amazing person was mine. (Bella)

We took turns shoving cake in each other’s faces; Edward manfully swallowed his portion as I watched in disbelief. I threw my bouquet with atypical skill, right into Angela’s surprised hands. Emmett and Jasper howled with laughter at my blush while Edward removed my borrowed garter – which I’d shimmied down nearly to my ankle – very carefully with his teeth. With a quick wink at me, he shot it straight into Mike Newton’s face. (Bella)

Stop blubbering, Bella. You’ll ruin your dress. It’s just me. (Jacob)

Yeah – the party can start. The best man finally made it. (Jacob)

You’re monopolizing the bride. Let me dance with my little sister. This could be my last chance to make her blush. (Emmett)

Did my skin burst into flames? I had to look down to check. Nope, nothing was burning. At least, not visibly. (Bella)

I wouldn’t use the word beautiful. Not with you standing here in comparison. (Edward)

Fire and ice, somehow existing together without destroying each other. More proof that I belonged with him. (Bella)

Why am I covered in feathers? (Bella)You… bit a pillow? Why? (Bella)We’re just lucky it was the pillows and not you. (Edward)

So you seduced your all-too-willing husband. That’s not a capital offense. (Edward)

The phone kept ringing. I wished Edward would answer it – I was having a moment. Possibly the biggest of my life. (Bella)

I’m a little worried about Edward… Can vampires go into shock? (Bella)

This child, Edward’s child, was a whole different story. I wanted him like I wanted air to breathe. Not a choice – a necessity. (Bella)

I wondered – would a bullet through my temple actually kill me or just leave a really big mess for me to clean up? (Jacob)

You missed the party. Princess theme. She made me wear a crown, and then Emily suggested they all try out her new play makeup on me. (Quil)

I didn’t want to see this, didn’t want to think about this. I didn’t want to imagine him inside her. I didn’t want to know that something I hated so much had taken root in the body I loved. (Jacob)

I didn’t want to kill girls… even vampire girls. Though I might make an exception for that blonde. (Jacob)

I don’t care about anything but keeping her alive. If it’s a child she wants, she can have it. She can have half a dozen babies. Anything she wants. She can have puppies, if that’s what it takes. (Edward)

I felt like – like I don’t know what. Like this wasn’t real. Like I was in some Goth version of a bad sitcom. Instead of being the A/V dweeb about to ask the head cheerleader to the prom, I was the finished-second-place werewolf about to ask the vampire’s wife to shack up and procreate. Nice. (Jacob)

I’m not going to lie, Bells. You’re hideous. (Jacob)

No one could dispute the Alpha’s decision – except for me. I hadn’t earned anything. But there were things that had been born in me, things that I’d left unclaimed. I’d never wanted to lead the pack. I didn’t want to do it now. I didn’t want the responsibility for all our fates resting on my shoulders. Sam was better at that than I would ever be. But he was wrong tonight. And I had not been born to kneel to him. The bonds fell off my body the second that I embraced my birthright. (Jacob)

Do you belong to a coven now, Jacob? (Sam)

Nice to have toddlers guarding the fort. (Emmett)

It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? I’m joining your crappy little renegade pack. The vampires’ guard dogs. (Leah)

Jeez, how did anyone stand living with him? It was really too bad he couldn’t hear Bella’s thoughts. Then he’d annoy the crap out of her, too, and she’d get tired of him. (Jacob)

You know how you drown a blonde, Rosalie? Glue a mirror to the bottom of a pool. (Jacob)

About time. The chainsaw impersonation was getting a little tired. (Rosalie)

It had once probably been a big mixing bowl, but she’d bent the bowl back in on itself until it was shaped almost exactly like a dog dish. I had to be impressed with her quick craftsmanship. And her attention to detail. She’d scratched the word Fido into the side. Excellent handwriting. (Jacob)

Hey, do you know what you call a blonde with a brain? A golden retriever. (Jacob)

Silently, I lifted my doggy bowl off the floor. Then, with a quick, powerful flip of my wrist, I threw it into the back of Blondie’s head so hard that – with an earsplitting bang – it smashed flat before it ricocheted across the room and snapped the round top piece off the thick newel post at the foot of the stairs. (Jacob)

You. Got. Food. In. My. Hair. (Rosalie)

I’m not going to forget this, dog. (Rosalie)

S’not so hard to erase a blonde’s memory. Just blow in her ear. (Jacob)

It… the baby likes the sound of your voice. (Edward)

In that moment, I knew that I was alone. All alone. I wanted to kick myself when I realized how much I’d been counting on that loathsome vampire. How stupid – as if you could ever trust a leech! Of course he would betray me in the end. (Jacob)

Crazy how easy it was, walking through the dark with a vampire right beside me. It didn’t feel unsafe, or even uncomfortable, really. It felt like walking next to anybody. Well, anybody who smelled bad. (Jacob)

Everything inside me came undone as I stared at the tiny porcelain face of the half-vampire, half-human baby. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who I was – my love for the dead girl upstairs, my love for my father, my loyalty to my new pack, the love for my other brothers, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, my self – disconnected from me in that second – snip, snip, snip – and floated up into space. I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was. (Jacob)

The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood. It was the baby girl in the blond vampire’s arms that held me here now. Renesmee. (Jacob)

Her tiny face was so absolutely perfect that it stunned me. She was even more beautiful than her father. Unbelievable. Impossible. (Bella)

It was like he’d never kissed me – like this was our first kiss. And, in truth, he’d never kissed me this way before. It almost made me feel guilty. Surely I was in breach of the contract. I shouldn’t be allowed to have this, too. (Bella)

You’ve been holding out on me. (Bella)

Now it’s your turn to not break me. (Edward)

That was quite graceful – even for a vampire. (Edward)

It was the first time anyone had ever applied the word graceful to me in my entire life… or, well, existence anyway. (Bella)

Jacob isn’t suffering. Though I might be willing to change his condition. (Edward)
I gotta say it, Bells. You’re a freak show. (Jacob)

Huh. I can see what everyone’s been going on about. You stink, Jacob. (Bella)

We’ll take care of you, Bella. Don’t worry, we’ll be ready. None of us would risk Renesmee. I think you’ll be surprised at how entirely she’s already wrapped us all around her little fingers.

She’ll be perfectly safe, no matter what. (Edward)

I’ve held her all of one time, and already you think you have some moronic wolfy claim on her? She’s mine. (Bella)

You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster? (Bella)

Renesmee smiled her brilliant smile, and her memory eyes did not leave Jacob through all the following mess. I tasted a new flavor to the memory – not exactly protective, more possessive – as she watched Jacob. I got the distinct impression that she was glad Seth had put himself in front of my spring. She didn’t want Jacob hurt. He was hers. (Bella)

It’s just because he tastes better than the rest of us. (Edward)

He had the most beautiful, perfect body in the world and I had him all to myself, and it didn’t feel like I was every going to find a point where I would think, now I’ve had enough for one day. I was always going to want more. And the day was never going to end. So, in such a situation, how did we ever stop? It didn’t bother me at all that I had no answer. (Bella)

So it’s still standing? I would’ve thought you two had knocked it to rubble by now. What were you doing last night? Discussing the national debt? (Emmett)

The more time he spends here, the less chance there is that we’ll ever get the smell out. (Rosalie)

I’m sure you’ll ace your classes… apparently there’s nothing interesting for you to do at night besides study. (Emmett)

After a few minutes, he asked, real quietly, if you turned into an animal, too. And I said, ‘She wishes she was that cool!’ (Jacob)

No, I don’t care if you bite Jacob. That’s fine. (Edward)

‘Bout time somebody scored around here. (Emmett)

Sturdy is good. She’ll need to be tough, surrounded by all this craziness. Prettiest baby I ever saw, including you, kid. Sorry, but it’s true. (Charlie)

You. Me. Arm-wrestling. Dining room table. Now. (Bella)

What an amazing creature she is. (Edward)

He was both dazzling and dazzled. (Bella)

Was this the limit, then? I’d had more happiness than most people ever experienced. Was there some natural law that demanded equal shares of happiness and misery in the world? Was my joy overthrowing the balance? (Bella)

It’s over. We’ve all been sentenced to die. (Bella)

A very talented family. A mind reader for a father, a shield for a mother, and then whatever magic this extraordinary child has bewitched us with. (Eleazar)

Excuse me, what did you just call my wife? (Edward)

Say what you want, I still think Dracula One and Dracula Two are creep-tacular. (Jacob)

The only reason Renesmee would need a forger was if she was running. And the only reason Renesmee would be running was if we had lost. (Bella)

I heard the music before I was out of the car. Edward hadn’t touched his piano since the night Alice left. Now, as I shut the car door, I heard the song morph through a bridge and change into my lullaby. Edward was welcoming me home. (Bella)

The packs will fight with the Cullens. We’re not afraid of vampires. (Jacob)Stupid leeches. Think they’re so superior. (Jacob)They’ll be shocked when the infants save their superior lives, won’t they? (Edward)

Edward and I had not had a last grand scene of farewell, nor did I plan one. To speak the word was to make it final. It would be the same as typing the words The End on the last page of a manuscript. So we did not say our goodbyes, and we stayed very close to each other, always touching. Whatever end found us, it would not find us separated. (Bella)

The shield blew out from me in a bubble of sheer energy, a mushroom cloud of liquid steel. It pulsed like a living thing – I could feel it, from the apex to the edges. (Bella)

You look good. Immortality suits you. (Felix)

I love you. (Renesemee) I love you too, more than my own life. (Bella)I love you, too, Jake.
You’ll always be my best man. (Bella)Goodbye, Jacob, my brother… my son. (Edward)

Aro, would you ask Jane to stop attacking my wife? (Edward)

I get to stay with you? (Renesmee)

I couldn’t speak anymore. I lifted my head and kissed him with a passion that might possibly set the forest on fire. I wouldn’t have noticed. (Bella)

But most significant in this tidal wave of happiness was the surest fact of all: I was with Edward. Forever. (Bella)

Now you know. No one’s ever loved anyone as much as I love you. (Bella)You’re almost right, I know of just one exception. (Edward)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Charity, I read your blogs because I "love the series with unfathomable depths" AND because I care about you! LOL! And, don't I feel like a celebrity? ahahaa!! Thank you for metioning me in your blog, but most of all, thank you for turning me on to reading...these books in particular! What a great way to start a new hobby! I'm not sure what else may be out there that could even compare to the Twilight saga, but I definitley plan on giving some others a try! I may be disappointed, and if so, I'll just read Twilight over and over and over! Wow, there's just not a whole lot I can say about these books except "incredible"! You know how I feel about them, the exact same way you do! Great job on the blogs and I am loving the quotes! Thanks again for sharing Twilight with me, I love it so much! Love you lots!!

Leigh

Melody said...

I also love them with unfathomable depths. I don't even know how many times I've read them because so often I'll pick up one just to remind myself of a certain scene and end up reading the whole thing. Stephanie has a true gift and truly hope that she writes for years to come.