Magnificent Obsession Post 5: Chapter 8

In chapter 8, we really begin to dig into Mr. Hudson's secret journal. He explores with Nancy Ashford. At first, Bobby thought that Hudson was a psychopath, but later, he found a hint of sanity that encouraged him to move on. Nancy and Bobby learn that Doctor Hudson was a Christian, but he kept it a secret. He says that he read the verse in the Bible that says "If your left hand causes you to sin, cut it off." At first, he took the Bible very literally, but later dug deeper into the real meaning of it all. Unlike many people, Hudson valued the Bible, and considered it to be far from lees.



New words from this week

Exultant - pg. 112 - Triumphantly happy - "Returning from Tony's, wide awake and exultant, he [Bobby] had resolved, late as it was, to decode a few pages of the journal."

Lees - pg. 113 - Dregs; refuse - "He had gouged his hot face into his pillow and decanted his wrath to its bitter lees..."

Magnificent Obsession Post 4: Chapters 5-7

Chapter 5

Nancy Ashford (the receptionist at the hospital) and Bobby go on a car ride together. Bobby says that he'll do the listening; Nancy will do the talking. Bobby gives Nancy the proffer to drive. Bobby's plan doesn't quite work out as he talks as much as Nancy does in a pretty evenly split dialogue. Eventually, Nancy brings up Dr. Hudson's secret journal (which is an actual book that Lloyd C. Douglas published as a supplement to Magnificant Obsession). But, the journal is written in code! Bobby decides that he'll devote his time to solving the puzzle.

The first page of the Hudson Journal, on page 91 (the last page of chapter 5) of Magnificant Obsession. No copyright infringement intended :)

Chapter 6

In chapter 6, we take a break from Bobby's story and come to Helen and Joyce. Helen warns Joyce not to go to Gordon's for dinner. Of course, Joyce goes against her mother's wishes. Helen describes Gordon's as a "dangerous place." When Joyce returns home, she's drunk as a skunk (what does that even mean?). Wasted as ever, she says to Helen (fyi, there are no typos in the following quote, this came directly from the book) "Tommy nice boy! Goin' - goin' to marry Tommy. ... Well - can't you congrat - can't you feli - I'm afraid I can't say it very distinc'ly - but aren't you glad - about Tommy and me? ... I come home - all happy - to announce my engagesh to Tommy - and you cry! What's the big idea? Do you want him?" Luckily, Joyce's hangover was ephemeral.

Chapter 7

Bobby solved the encrypted journal! The first line says

READER I CONSIDER YOU MY FRIEND AND COMMEND YOUR PERSEVERANCE HAVING ACHIEVED THE ABILITY TO READ THIS BOOK YOU HAVE ALSO THE RIGHT TO POSSESS IT MY REASON FOR DOING THIS IN CIPHER WILL BE MADE PLAIN AS YOU PROCEED

Obviously, Bobby was thrilled. He had quite the swagger.

Next we explore the story of Tony, an italian cook. Like the late Dr. Hudson, Tony is a bit of a philanthropist. He loans money and doesn't ask for the money back, but he does leave a box out for those who do want to repay him. When people return money to the box, Tony stays quiet about it, and respects the ones he's loaned money to.



New words from this week

Proffer - Chapter 5, page 84 - "Many of his wards and beneficiaries have been coming to see her with expressions of sympathy, and some with proffers of assistance if she needed it."


Verb
Hold out (something) to someone for acceptance; offer.

Noun
An offer or proposal.


Ephemeral - Chapter 6, page 100 - "She had been disposed to wave that implication aside as a mere pose ... a bit of ephemeral martyrdom to be toyed with until he tired of it.


Adjective
Lasting for a very short time: "fashions are ephemeral".



Swagger - Chapter 7, page 103 - "... swinging his long arms with a triumphant swagger."


Verb
Walk or behave in a very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive way: "he swaggered along the corridor".

Noun
A very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive gait or manner.

Magnificent Obsession Post 3: Chapters 3-4

Chapter 3

At the beginning of the chapter, we see Joyce (Hudson's daughter) and Tom Masterson (Bobby's college friend) having a conversation in the garden. They talk about how Bobby has had a change of lifestyle. He stopped drinking (as much) and started to be a better person. Helen tells Masterson how Hudson was a philanthropist. She tells a story about hot Hudson once loaned $20,000 to a man so he could get back on his feet, and out of his destitute way of life. When the man finally had enough to pay Hudson back, Hudson refused the money! He said, "I've used it all up myself!" The characters in the book have no idea what that meant, and quite frankly, neither do I.


Chapter 4

In the first sentence of chapter four, we're introduced to a new character: Nicholas Merrick, Bobby's grandfather. Nicholas was a pretty awful father to Clif, and consequently, Clif was a pretty awful father to Bobby. But, Bobby decides to do something with his life. When Nicholas learns that Bobby is graduating from college, Nicholas is overjoyed.



New words from this week

Destitute

From chapter 3, pg 58 

Adjective
1. Without the basic necessities of life.
2. Not having.

Synonyms
needy - indigent - poor - necessitous - penurious


Eohippus

From chapter 4, pg 66

Noun
earliest horse; extinct primitive dog-sized four-toed Eocene animal

Eocene - from 58 million to 40 million years ago

Magnificent Obsession Post 2: Chapters 1-2

In the first two chapters of the book, we're given a glimpse into the world we're in. The story begins in a hospital. Rumor has it that the brain surgeon, Dr. Hudson, fainted during an operation! The worst part was that the rumor was true! In an effort to not let the cat out of the bag, all the doctors had a secret meeting. Their goal was to make sure that the fact that Hudson fainted is never learned by any of the patients. Many of the other doctors feel guilty meeting behind Dr. Hudson' back.  By the time we reach the 20th page, our protagonist dies! I was reading the book and I was very shocked. I was not very prescient at the time. Thanks a lot, Lloyd C. Douglas. We were just getting to know Dr. Hudson and you go and kill him off. Oh well. non traditional stories are always fun to read, (or watch, i.e., Megamind). Dr. Hudson had a fear of swimming, therefore, he took a dip in the lake. Pretty strange guy, huh? At least he tried to overcome his fears. Meanwhile, on the other side of the lake, a man named Bobby (Genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist, minus the genius and philanthropist part, plus a little bit of dipsomaniac), was out sailing on the other side of the lake. His sail knocked him upside of the head, and his buddies on board grabbed Dr. Hudson's resuscitator, and saved Bobby's life! Unfortunately, Dr. Hudson needed his resuscitator at the same time as it was borrowed, and he died. Bobby was later blamed for the accident and says that he's not the one who stole the resuscitator! It was a sad day for everyone. 

Magnificent Obsession Post 1: About the Author

Lloyd C. Douglas was born on August 27, 1877. He lived to be 73 years old and died on February 13, 1951. Being a pastor's kid, he eventually became a minister. Like many authors, Douglas didn't begin his writing career until he was older. 50, to be exact. After marrying a woman named Bessie, and having two children with her, Douglas published his first book, Magnificent Obsession, in 1929. Douglas was considered one of the best authors of his time; Magnificent Obsession got rave reviews. He wrote ten more books after Magnificent Obsession, including an autobiography and one distinctly popular title, The Robe, which was made into a motion picture in 1953. Many of his other books were also adapted for the screen, including Magnificent Obsession, which won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Unfortunately, Douglas had passed two years in California before the The Robe's film release, and before he had the chance to write the second part of his autobiography. Luckily, his daughters took care of that for him.

Fahrenheit 451 Post 5: Conclusion (Final)

Fahrenheit 451 gave what I believe to be a very possible outcome of the world. The book doesn't qualify as science-fiction. More like science-this-could-really-happen. He predicted a few things. Take the seashells, for example. We now have earbuds that some keep in their ears constantly, listening to the messages of the world, whether it be in music, podcast, or live radio talk shows. As far as the living room family, I have a 120" screen in my home that my family watches movies on all the time. We're not addicted by any means, and there's only one screen (not one on all four walls), but you get the idea. Bradbury wrote this book in the 50's. He was just a genius, as far as I'm concerned. Fahrenheit 451 is written in such an artistic way that the reader feels like he's in the moment. Reading it is an experience. I hope you'll read this book and get a glimpse into the possible future.

Fahrenheit 451 Post 4: Burning Bright

Montag is in disbelief. Who could have pulled the alarm for his house? Mildred, he thinks. Beatty orders Montag to burn down his own house. Montag obeys. His entire house is in flames. Even though it's 3:30 in the morning, the entire neighborhood comes out of their homes to see all the action. After Beatty takes away Montag's earpiece, Montag kills Beatty with a flamethrower! This (I thing) is where Montag gets the ball rolling. Montag also kills all the other firemen around him. Even more shocking, Montag manages to kill the Hound as well. When Montag goes out into the back yard, he finds four books that Mildred missed. He takes them along with a Seashell (the he lodges in his ear) and runs away. Listening to the live police reports, he uses the Seashell to his advantage as he's a fugitive on the run. Montag heads to a gas station to wash the soot of his face. He hears that war has been declared (Well, that escalated quickly!). Montag hears on the radio that the police are advising people to look for "a man running." Therefore, Montag tries his hardest to walk everywhere, so as to not arouse suspicion. As he's walking down a street, he sees a car approaching him. Montag thinks it's the police. After he almost gets ran over, Montag realizes that it's just a bunch of teenagers who couldn't have cared less if they killed someone. Maybe they were the same people who killed Clarisse? We'll never know as that information isn't revealed before the end of the book. Montag goes to a coworker's house and hides the books. He proceeds to call an alarm on for that house. Montag goes to Faber's house and gets some advice: Go along the railroad tracks. They're never used anymore as almost all transportation is done above ground. Faber says that there's a lot of hobo camps along the tracks. The government is doing all they can to capture Montag. A new Hound is looking for Montag. The new Hound can recognize many different scents. Montag follows Faber's advice, and finds one of the camps. The hobos give him a drink that will make him smell different. Granger, the leader of this particular hobo camp, shows Montag a portable TV. They watch the police chase and see the camera zoom in on a random guy on the street. The announcers say that this guy is Montag, and they declare that the search is over. The media has to keep the people entertained, and if they had taken any longer to find the real Montag, the people would have gotten bored. Next, Montag learn that the hobos aren't hobos at all. They're books! What? Well, the hobos have found a way to fabricate a photographic memory, thus storing books in their heads. Hobos on the outside, books on the inside. As long as they don't die, the hobos can restore books eventually.

The book ends in an epic apocalyptic finale. A bunch of bombs are dropped onto the city. Montag and the hobos are determined to help the survivors, and restore humanity.