Assignment #6 "And The Shadows Took Him"
I really enjoyed Chacon’s “And the Shadows Took Him”. I read this book from cover to cover in a few hours; I just found it impossible to put down. The book is written in such a way that you are always wondering what is going to happen next. I think this is due to William’s explosive personality. This type of character can keep readers on the edge of their seats because it is never clear what he is going to do next.
In this story, it seemed to me that Billy and Vero were a small part of the action. They seemed to be lacking the dynamic role in the story that William, Rachel, and Joey had. I think that they could have been integrated a bit more into the story. At times I almost forgot that they even existed until they came popping up again. I think that the story would benefit from showing more interaction between the siblings in the later years. I would have liked to see how Billy and Vero underwent change just like the rest of the characters did.
I think that the character that went through the biggest change was Rachel. She went from being quiet and kind of passive to quite self sufficient and opinionated in the later part of the story. This was definitely due to William’s changing attitude and isolation from the rest of the family. I was very glad to see her make a stand for herself and to want a better life for herself and her children.
I found William to be a strange character throughout the novel. He seemed to be one of those characters of whom you could never know what to expect. I would assume that he is probably a product of his upbringing and doesn’t know any other way of parenting. I think that a lot of people can identify with the way he acts towards his children. Anyone that grew up in a strict household would probably identify with the struggle between William and Joey. I kept waiting for William to grow softer over time as he got older and become a better father and husband and was disappointed to see that this didn’t happen. I have to say that towards the end of the story, I could have never guessed what he did to Amy would happen. I think this add evidence to the fact that he is an unpredictable character.
Joey was the character that surprised me the most. I thought that over the course of the story that he would start accepting some responsibility and clean up his act. I was surprised repeatedly by his stupidity. I was shocked at the part where Joey was smoking PCP. Time after time, he just never acted any more mature. Everything seemed to be a game to him and he was lucky that he didn’t get killed with some of his actions. I was also shocked at his attitude towards William after he found out what he did to Amy. It seemed like he didn’t even care.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this story. I found the ending to be a bit unresolved. I would have really liked to have known what happened to Joey next. As much as I dislike that the ending, I think that the ending achieved its desired effect; it keeps you wondering.
In this story, it seemed to me that Billy and Vero were a small part of the action. They seemed to be lacking the dynamic role in the story that William, Rachel, and Joey had. I think that they could have been integrated a bit more into the story. At times I almost forgot that they even existed until they came popping up again. I think that the story would benefit from showing more interaction between the siblings in the later years. I would have liked to see how Billy and Vero underwent change just like the rest of the characters did.
I think that the character that went through the biggest change was Rachel. She went from being quiet and kind of passive to quite self sufficient and opinionated in the later part of the story. This was definitely due to William’s changing attitude and isolation from the rest of the family. I was very glad to see her make a stand for herself and to want a better life for herself and her children.
I found William to be a strange character throughout the novel. He seemed to be one of those characters of whom you could never know what to expect. I would assume that he is probably a product of his upbringing and doesn’t know any other way of parenting. I think that a lot of people can identify with the way he acts towards his children. Anyone that grew up in a strict household would probably identify with the struggle between William and Joey. I kept waiting for William to grow softer over time as he got older and become a better father and husband and was disappointed to see that this didn’t happen. I have to say that towards the end of the story, I could have never guessed what he did to Amy would happen. I think this add evidence to the fact that he is an unpredictable character.
Joey was the character that surprised me the most. I thought that over the course of the story that he would start accepting some responsibility and clean up his act. I was surprised repeatedly by his stupidity. I was shocked at the part where Joey was smoking PCP. Time after time, he just never acted any more mature. Everything seemed to be a game to him and he was lucky that he didn’t get killed with some of his actions. I was also shocked at his attitude towards William after he found out what he did to Amy. It seemed like he didn’t even care.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this story. I found the ending to be a bit unresolved. I would have really liked to have known what happened to Joey next. As much as I dislike that the ending, I think that the ending achieved its desired effect; it keeps you wondering.
posted by JeffreyDenato at 2:17 PM
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