Tuesday 26 November 2013

Plot summary of the books

As I am yet to read the books, I have researched online to find the general plot of both novels, including reading the blurbs on the back. This will help me roughly understand what the book are about. Below I will include a summary of both book which I have referenced from an online source, these should adequately explain the main plots of the novels.


'The Outsiders' by S.E. Hinton:

Ponyboy, a member of the Greasers gang, is leaving a movie theater when a group of Socs jumps him. His older brothers Darrel and Sodapop and several members of their gang, rescue him. The next night, Ponyboy and his friends Dallas and Johnny meet Cherry Valance and Marcia at a drive-in movie theatre. Ponyboy realizes that Cherry is nothing like the Socs he has met before. The Greasers walk Cherry and Marcia home, and Socs Bob Sheldon and Randy Adderson see them and think the boys are trying to pick up their girlfriends. Cherry and Marcia prevent a fight by leaving with Bob and Randy willingly. When Ponyboy comes home very late, Darry gets angry and hits him. Ponyboy runs away and meets up with Johnny. As they wander around the neighborhood, Bob, Randy, and three other drunk Socs confront them. After the Socs nearly drown Ponyboy in a fountain, a terrified Johnny stabs Bob, accidentally killing him. Ponyboy and Johnny find Dallas, who gives them money and a loaded gun and tells them to hide in an abandoned church. They stay there for a few days, during which time Ponyboy reads Gone with the Wind to Johnny and recites the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost.

When Dallas comes to get them, he reveals that the fights between the rival groups have exploded in intensity since Bob's death. Johnny decides to turn himself in, but the boys then notice that the church has caught on fire and several children are trapped inside. When Johnny and Ponyboy rush to rescue them, burning timber falls on Johnny, breaking his back. Dallas rescues Johnny. Ponyboy is relatively unscathed and spends a short time in the hospital. When his brothers arrive to see him, Darry breaks down and cries. Ponyboy then realizes that Darry cares about him, and is only hard on Ponyboy because he wants him to have a good future.
Another of the gang, Two-Bit, informs Ponyboy that he and Johnny have been declared heroes for rescuing the kids, but Johnny will be charged with manslaughter for Bob's death. He also says that the Greasers and Socs have agreed to settle their turf war with a major rumble. The Greasers win the fight. After the rumble, Dally and Ponyboy visit Johnny and see him die. An overcome Dally rushes out of the hospital and robs a store. When he points his empty gun at the police, they shoot and kill him. Ponyboy faints and stays sick and delirious for nearly a week. While recovering, he tries to convince himself that Johnny is not dead and that he is the one who killed Bob.

When Ponyboy goes back to school, his grades drop. Although he is failing English, his teacher says he will pass him if he writes a decent theme. In the copy of Gone with the Wind that Johnny gave him before dying, Ponyboy finds a note from Johnny describing how he will die proudly after saving the kids from the fire. Johnny also urges Ponyboy to "stay gold". Ponyboy decides to write his English assignment about the recent events, and begins his essay with the opening line of the novel: "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home…".



'What A Carve Up!' by Jonathan Coe:

Tabitha accuses Lawrence of killing Godfrey who was shot down over Germany. She claims to have heard Lawrence speaking in German in his study, but no one believes her. When the family reconvenes for Mortimer’s 50th birthday, Lawrence is attacked in the night but survives, killing the intruder. The Winshaws are an example of upper-class British families: rich, political, and powerful. Michael Owens, the narrator for part of the story, is a writer obsessed with the 1961 British comedy horror film What a Carve Up! starring Shirley Eaton and Kenneth Connor. He is commissioned to write a history of the Winshaws. Michael lives in London and has been socially withdrawn for two years. He watches the same film every night and does nothing else except eat, sleep, and think. Fiona, his neighbour, becomes his friend after she knocks on his door to ask for sponsorship for a 40-mile bike ride.
After this encounter, Michael begins to see that he cannot continue to stay inside all the time and begins his work on the Winshaws' biography again. Hilary Winshaw is a well-known newspaper columnist. Henry Winshaw is a politician famous for his backstabbing tactics. Dorothy Winshaw is a farmer who mistreats her animals and uses mass production in order to maximise profit. Roderick (Roddy) Winshaw runs an art gallery, sleeping with every college-aged female painter along the way. Thomas Winshaw works for a bank and makes investments in film technology, while peeping on closed sets. Finally, there is Mark Winshaw, who sells weapons to Saddam Hussein.
Michael was tasked with the project in 1982; however, by August 1990 he has still not finished it. When Findlay Onyx, a private detective hired by Tabitha some years ago, tracks Michael down to help him figure out what secrets the Winshaws are hiding, the story begins to come together. As Michael begins finding out more about these Winshaw characters, Fiona becomes ill and dies in January 1991. Mortimer Winshaw also dies around this time and Michael is called to the reading of his will in order to document it for his history.
At the reading of the will, the younger generation waits greedily to hear what they will inherit. They get nothing. As the night goes on, Henry is stabbed in the back; Hilary crushed under a stack of her newspaper columns; Dorothy hung on a meat hook like one of her farm animals; Thomas‟ eyes are gouged out, his body never found; Mark’s arms are chopped off in a “farewell to arms” while Roddy is painted gold and suffocates. After Michael finds out from Tabitha that his real father is John Farringdon, the co-pilot who was with Godfrey, Michael understands why he was chosen to be the family biographer. As Michael goes through a secret hallway he discovers upon the way the Lawrence had most likely given away Geoffrey’s location to the Germans. Then, Mortimer shows up. Covered in blood and looking tired, he admits that he killed off the whole younger generation of Winshaws: “Mr Owen...I do hope that you aren’t going to expend any pity on members of my family. They don’t deserve it” (pg. 484).
The story ends with Aunt Tabitha taking over the plane that Michael is in. He experiences for the third time a dream that he has as the plane hurtles towards the ground, Aunt Tabitha singing “Row Your Boat”.


References:

No comments:

Post a Comment