Literature Analysis #3

Marley&Me by John Grogan
1. (a) This book is about a young couple that recently started their lives together. They didn't have children of their own, but decided to go out and buy a puppy and name it Marley to make their home feel more like a home. As the book goes on, Marley gets bigger and bigger and becomes a pain in the house because he does things like eating the couch, eating jewelry, and crashing through the screen doors. Jenny and John even try to take Marley to an obedience class, but Marley just ends up ruining the whole program. Even though Marley was erratic and uncontrollable, he was a devoted and loving dog and was always right there and loyal to John and Jenny.
(b) This book is about the unconditional love of a dog that teaches a family how to really become a family.
2. I think that the author decided to write about this thing in his life because he wanted to share with the world that a dog is really a mans best friend. In the book, John really makes a close connection with Marley, and Marley really had a huge impact on his life. I think writing about something that is very important to you is the best way to write because it has the most meaning and understanding, and i believe that's why John decided to write about his family and how it was impacted.
3. I choose to read this book because I've watched the movie over and over, but i never knew that the movie was actually based off of a real story. When i found the book in the nonfiction section of the library, i realized that i had never read the book and that it would be a great book to read. Knowing that i didn't realize that it was nonfiction, i knew i would get a totally different outlook on the story if i read the book itself.
4. I found this book to be very realistic because i believe that animals are just as much apart of a family as any person is. I also believe that a dog or even any animal has the ability to make a family truly a family. I am a huge dog lover myself and once i have a family of my own, i know that im going to have a dog in the family, and i dont see my home feeling like a home without one of the family members there, just like how John and Jenny feel in the book.
People: 
1. In this book, the author didnt create characters because its about a period of time in his life that involves his wife and his dog. The author is writing the book exactly how this period of time happened and i think that its great choice of writing because everything about its factual, not just the events that take place, but also everything and everyone that is involved.
2. John, the author, is a hard worker and does everything that he can do to provide for his wife and their home. Even though the dog causes him a lot of trouble, at the end of the day Marley and him are best friends. Jenny isnt a huge fan of Marley and actually wants to get rid of him plenty of times, but John always stopped her. She is very loving and supporting of John and is an excellent wife and eventually mother too.
3. These people are interesting to me because they are just a wholesome couple with every day struggles and it makes them very likable. They are down to earth and all around good people and have a great relationship. "A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy".
Questions: 
1. I think the only time that the author changes his diction towards the characters is when he is talking about Marley and all of the crazy things that the dog is doing and even the problems that he is causing. The diction isnt in a negative tone, but you can tell that he expresses the character of the dog in a different manner.
2. The protagonist is Marley which is a dog. He is static and flat because he is the same crazy erratic dog throughout the whole book up until his last few days before he dies because he is dying and isnt as spunky as he really is, but over all Marley stays the same throughout the whole thing.
3. After reading the book i felt that i had met Marley. Even though he is a dog i felt like he was right there in my home while i was reading the book because you cant help but fall in love with him while you are reading the book. Also, you know you have made a real connection with the characters in the book when you are sitting there balling your eyes out while reading the last few pages of the book.
Style:
1. The author wrote the book in a journalistic style because he talked about the day to day over the period of time that Marley was in their lives.
2. The lengthy descriptions about Marley i think were intended to give the reader the full effect of Marley's personality and to let the readers really experience the feelings of what they were going through. And the descriptions of Marley werent always about his erratic behavior, but also about his tenderness and love for Jenny and John.
3. The author uses a lot of description to set the mood of the story. In order to fill in the readers about Marley, he had to be very descriptive in what he was saying about life at home.
4. The authors attitude towards the story is very happy and appreciative. You can tell that he loves his family very much and that the dog really had a huge impact on his life and will forever be apart of his family.
5. There isnt any resources offered in this book because its more of a journal type of nonfiction. John is talking about a period of time in his life that he wanted to share with the world and just wrote about everything that happened during this time.
Enduring memory:
The thing that im going to take away from reading this book is the love for your family. Everyone goes through troubles in their life and we are all sometimes erratic in the things we do, but we can all get through it. Unconditional love is an amazing thing and can conquer a lot of hardship. Something that John said in the book really stuck out to me and had a lot of meaning behind it and it was, "a dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside". This is so amazing to me because even though its talking about dogs, it has a context towards humans too because we all can relate to this quote and become a better person by taking a step back and looking at life for what it really has to offer instead of materialistic things.
Bonus Question: 
The key people in the book learn the true meaning of a family. They learn this through Marley because even though it may seem that he is tearing them apart at times, John and Jenny become closer than ever through Marley being apart of their lives. I know this because you can see the change of the characters within the book and see that Marley is making them a better family.