Marley and Me quotes

1. "'We have to do the scare test,' I said. Many times before I had recounted for Jenny the story of picking out Saint Shaun when I was a boy, and my father teaching me to make a sudden move or loud noise to separate the timid from the self-assured" (Grogan 8).
In this quote, Jenny and John are deciding which dog they are going to take home with them.
When John was a boy he did this test and had the greatest dog a boy could ever obtain. John assumed it would work with Marley too and he would turn out as great as Saint Shaun. Marley was already put to the test and passed at a young age; he was going to be great... or so John thought.

2. "When the lesson was over, she asked if I could stay after for a minute. I waited with Marley as she patiently fielded questions from other students in the class. When the last one had left, she turned to me and, in a newly conciliatory voice, said, 'I think your dog is still a little young for structured obedience training'" (Grogan 63).
At this point, John has given up on training the wild dog himself and so he went to obedience school for help. This just shows how much trouble of a dog Marley really is. John later says Marley is the only dog he has heard of to get kicked out of obedience school. Despite everything, they keep Marley and work with his overactive behavior.

3. "One night early on, as I was turning off the lights to go to bed, I couldn't find Marley anywhere. Finally I thought to look in the nursery, and there he was, stretched out on the floor beside Patrick's crib, the two of them snoring away in stereophonic fraternal bliss. Marley, our wild crashing bronco, was different around Patrick" (Grogan 109).
The normally, crazy hyper dog that John and Jenny have known their whole life is starting to take on a new side of gentleness. He seems to realize that a baby is more delicate and so he doesn't act as frantic around the new born. With his new care and calmness, Marley gains respect from his owners and they are starting to trust him more.

4. "When I looked up, there he stood, ten feet from us, facing the street, in a determined, bull-like crouch I had never seen before. It was a fighter's stance. His muscles bulged at the neck; his jaw was clenched; the fur between his shoulder blades bristled. He was intensely focused on the street and apeared poised to lunge. I realized in that instant that Jenny had been right. If the armed assailant returned, he would have to get past my dog first. At that moment I knew- I absolutely knew without a doubt- that Marley would fight him to death before he would let him at us.
There was a scream in the middle of the night in John's neighborhood. A girl had been taken by a man and threatened with a knife. When John went to go help, he left the door open and Marley came running after him. It wasn't till later that he noticed Marley standing there in protection mode. He saw the side of Marley that made him feel safe with his dog. Before this, Marley was just a dumb, silly pal; now he was a loyal guard dog.

5. "Thw Abominable Snowdog. Marley did not know what to make of this foreign substance. He jammed his nose deep into it and let loose a violent sneeze. He snapped at it and rubbed his face into it. Then, as if an invisible hand reached down from the heavens and jabbed with a giant shot of adrenaline, he took off at full throttle, racing around the yard in a series of giant, loping leaps inturrupted every several feet by a random somersault or nosedive" (Grogan 222).
Even after moving to PA, Marley is able to adjust to the weather and be his old self. In this passage, Grogan uses a lot of imagery to explain Marley's crazy actions and it really adds to the story. he uses word choice and overall way of writing just sets a very joyful happy mood to the scene. Marley definately knows how to make life joyful and happy and so it fits.

6. "No matter how much trouble he had getting up the stairs, if I returned downstairs, say to grab a book or turn off the lights, he would be right on my heels, clomping heavily down behind me. Then seconds later, he would have to repeat the torturous climb. Jenny and I both took to sneaking around behind his back one he was upstairs for the night so he would not be tempted to follow us back down" (Grogan 241).
As Marley gets older, he develops arthritus in his joints and has a lot of trouble running his normal life. The stairs were one of the hardest things for him and it really shows how loyal he is to John and Jenny that he would face the pain every night multiple times just to be with them all the time. Because it is a stupid thing to do, John and Jenny treat him with sympathy and try to eliminate some pain by sneaking but it never seemed to work. He lived with the suffering and never complainied or stopped for anything.

7. "Yes, it was only a dog, and dogs come and go in the course of human life, sometimes simply because they became an inconvenience. It was a dog, and yet every time I tried to talk about Marley to them, tears welled in my eyes" (Grogan 274).
After Marley died, there seemed to be a big empty space in the Grogans' lives. He came inside one morning from finding the perfect place to bury Marley and found his kids crying. He tried to explain to them that everything was ok and they would be fine, but John himself was having a hard time dealing with the fact that Marley wasn't coming back. John says he is the kind of person that never cries at funerals or many sad times but for some reason, a dog made him soften up; only a dog.

8. "What I really wanted to say was how this animal had touched our souls and taught us some of the most important lessons od our lives. 'A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours,' I wrote. "Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things- a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty'" (Grogan 279).
John works at a newspaper in PA and when Marley died, he decided to write a column about his story with the world's best and worst dog ever. He wrote it in tears thinking of all the times he yelled at Marley for the bad things he did and also for the fun times they had together. Marley, and any dog, is a lot more to a person's life then they ever expected. John says he taught him lessons about life that would be abesnt and unimportant to him without the help of his companion. After writing the article, John got hundreds of e-mails and letters back from readers all over the city sharing their stories and giving their sympathy. His life was changed forever because of the silly little dog that he origionally thought ruined his life. No matter what, even with silly minds and bad behaviors, dogs will always be a man's best friend.

All the Pretty Horses 3

We finished up All the Pretty Horses this week in class. I thought the ending was really good. John Grady goes back to Texas after meeting with Alejandra who denies his marriage request and realizes that there is nothing there for him. His best friend Rawlins tells him to go into a different field of work and to start new. The ranch isn't what it used to be and his father is gone now too. The last thing that showed how lonely was was when Luisa's mother died. She was a worker for the Cole family for as long as he could remember and the last thing he had in Texas. Now that she is gone, there is no reason for him to stay. I would have liked McCarthy to explain a little bit about where he goes and what he does for the rest of his life, now that he is abandoned but just figured out that he wrote another book as a sequel which I am thinking about reading now. Overall the book was good. I liked how he used very different stylistic elements like lack of quotations and punctuation. It made the story more challenging to read but also made it flow a little better. It was written as if someone were speaking it. I picture it as if the classic western story is told by an old cowboy who was there himself to witness a great journey.

Marley and Me 5

The reason John and Jenny decided to get a puppy in the first place was because they wanted to have children eventually and they thought a puppy would help. The time they have to spend training and feelind him would be just as much as a new baby. Jenny took this so seriously that by the time they were ready to have kids, the house was already baby-proofed from having Marley. Finally, one day, Jenny told John about a stomach ache and how she felt like she was going to throw up after taking a sip of wine. They went to the drug store, bought a test, and went home to see. Jenny couldnt look herself so when she saw John's expression as she walked out of the bathroom, she knew. She jumped into his arms, more than overjoyed that she was finally pregnant. The next couple months were going to be spent, overdramatically protecting Jenny from cleaners, heavy boxes, and anything that would hurt her most important possesion. Among the many worries they had for a new baby, the biggest one was Marley. His energetic spirit caused much consideration of how Marley would react to a new member in the family. Would he go crazy not getting the attention he has now? They could only hope and pray that he would treat the baby with more care than any of the shoes, rugs, and other furniture in the house. John and Jenny were ready for the baby, but was Marley?

All the Pretty Horses 2

John Grady Cole seems to be the hero or leader of the story. He and Rawlins set out for Mexico together and accomplish many feats but throughout the book, John Grady has been more of the role model. He broke 16 horses in 3 or 4 days with a little help from Rawlins and got a promotion from the ranch owner, Don Hector, because of it. When he and the hacendado were talking, John Grady is recognized as the leader for the first time. When asked for sure, though, John refuses the title and says he and Rawlins are partners and they travel and work together. He is loyal to his partner and will stand up for him in and circumstance. John Grady is the stereo-typical cowboy with his loyalty, skill, and also ability to sneak around with women while living under strict conditions. Alejandra, the hacendado's daughter, is the most perfect girl John has ever seen who is rich and pretty and above all, a little rebellious against her father's will. She and John Grady sneak around together although Alejandra knows it isn't right. When he is approached about the relationship from Alejandra's aunt, John Grady realizes the extent of their wrong-doing. The aunt says it could ruin the reputation of Alejandra, and it is not likely she will ever get it back because she is a woman. In the book, issues of loyalty, leadership, and sexism are starting to make things difficult for John Grady and everyone associated with him.

Marley and Me 4

John Grogan writes with a different style than most writers. I noticed it this week while reading Marley and Me when he was talking about Marley's adjustment to the new house, family and life overall. He tends to give Marley his own voice in some cases, thinking about what the dog would say if he could talk and give opinions. One time when John was writing about Marley's first night alone in the garage, he gave insight to Marley's thinking when John walked in the door. "As soon as he spotted me, his face brightened and his tail began to beat the side of the box. It was if he were saying, Come on, hop in; there's plenty of room" (Grogan 22). Johns style is also very fun filled with lots of happy, playful words and expressions. He uses many similies and metaphores to explain how Marley reacts to different things or to try to give an image of what is really going on because his dog does some pretty strange things. "His body would quiver, his head would bob from side to side, and his entire rear end would swing in a sort of spastic dance. We called it Marley Mambo" (Grogan 25). All of the devises John Grogan uses in his writing makes reading his book so much more enjoyable and really adds to the overall imagery.

All the Pretty Horses

We started reading All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy in class this past week. So far what has happened is that these two guys, John Grady Cole and Joe Rawlins, leave their home and head off for Mexico on their horses. They meet a boy named Blevins and take him with them on their journey even though they are afraid he will cause some trouble since he stole a horse and ran away from home. So far I really like the book. It is much easier to read than The Odyssey but is still a little challenging to read because of McCarthy's style of writing. He doesnt always use quotations and his sentences can be anywhere from three words to a full page long. The dialogue can be hard to read at times but I have gotten used to his writing now and understand the plot so it is fun to read. I like the story line too because when you read the title, it seems like it would be a girly book about horses and an easy life but really it is an adventure story about guys going to live in Mexico and facing troubles along the way. I can't wait to read more into what happens to John Grady, Rawlins, an Blevins along their journey through Mexico.

Marley and Me 3

For John, it was important that Marley had one rightful owner that would control the rules in the house. He believed that a dog could only answer to one owner or master and that he wanted to be that master for Marley. Because of that, John took comlete advantage of the fact that the first couple weeks Marley was home, Jenny wasn't going to be there. He spent his time trying to house train and discipline Marley with his own tactics of scolding and prasing at appropriate times and treating him with beach visits and dog treats. Things were looking good for the duo except for the fact that Marley, like John had readin books, was a lab and growing at a very quick pace. By the time Jenny got home from her trip, the little puppy she had picked out so long ago had now grown up and gained about thirty pounds. With his bigger size and stronger muscles, it was harder to train him too. Marley gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "tail wagging." Vases and other object would be shot off the table if Marley's tail was anywhere near. He gained the nickname Mr. Wiggles because he was always happy and jumping around which didnt help with the tail wagging either. After a while, John and Jenny decided they would need to completely baby proof their house because the obedience training with Marley wasn't having the effect they would have hoped for. That also made John a little disappointed because he had high hopes for "Grogan's Majestic Marley of Churchill" and wanted badly to be the master. Even with the disappointment, John made a commitment and promised himself he would not give up.