Kathryn Keefe's blog

Final Porfolio

I. Reflections
a. Midterm Reflection - I have really enjoyed this English class thus far in the semester. It is nice to look at literature and stories in a new light such as collages rather than through just a paper. My favorite assignment was the Playlist assignment. I love music and I love reading, so getting to combine those elements, for a grade no less, was a lot of fun. Franny and Zooey is one of my favorite books and creating a playlist was a great excuse to read it yet again. Creating the collages was interesting as well. I worked with adobe photoshop a lot in high school for my publications class so I had a pretty easy time learning how to use the program GIMP. I had the most fun creating the character collage as I had just recently read the book Atonement and watched the movie. I am basically in love with that story so, like with Franny and Zooey, the collage was a great excuse to read it and reflect on it again. One of the most interesting things about the Yellow Wallpaper assignment was that it made me notice certain things about the story that I had not previously noticed. For example, I would be looking at the story on Wikilit and see a link for a sentence that I had not really thought that much of. However, reading a comment someone made about it made me realized things that I had not previously thought of. The story I liked the most thus far was the Hills Like White Elephants while my least favorite story was the Bride Comes to Yellow Sky. Overall, I have had a great time in this class and can't wait to start on the next project.
b. Final Reflection – This has been one of the most interesting English classes I have ever been in. I enjoyed most of the stories we studied and I really liked that the atmosphere of the classroom when we discussed the stories was relaxed and unintimidating. I think the atmosphere of the classroom really fostered a better understanding of the story for everyone because people weren’t as afraid to speak up as they may have been in a different English class. Using technology also helped because it got me to step out of my comfort zone a little bit. I am by far more computer savvy than I was before this class. However, probably what I most enjoyed from this class was the freedom we had with most of the projects. With many of the projects, we had the choice of what we wanted to do it on. This allowed me to study many of my favorite topics more closely. With the playlist I got to revisit my one of my favorite books, Franny and Zooey. I got to apply the knowledge I learned from another class with the poem collage. And of course, for the video I got to research all about Jane Austen, one of my favorite authors. I loved the fact that my ‘assignments’ were to study my favorite topics in literature/media. I believe I improved a lot from the first part of the semester to the second part. I was not technically in this class for the very first day and I guess I missed out on learning the basics of the blog. So for the first part I did not comment much as I was unsure about how to do it/when we should do it. But I talked with some of my classmates who had posted a lot and I made sure to participate much more in the blog. I really did enjoy this class. I honestly don’t think there is a single bad thing I could say about it beyond expressing my frustrations over the slow death of my computer towards the end of the semester. And though, the final revision of my video technically isn’t included in this portfolio. That video is probably the project I am most proud of out of all of the projects I have worked on for this class. I spent a lot of time understanding how to use the Windows Movie Maker program and how to properly express my ideas through this video, which, I think, was one of the main points of this class - learning how to express yourself and your thoughts more than one way.

II. Comments/Blog postings

a. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/80#comment-43
b. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/82#comment-55
c. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/70#comment-56
d. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/49#comment-57
e. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/112#comment-142
f. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/103#comment-143
g. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/198#comment-301
h. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/199#comment-300
i. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/192#comment-275
j. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/177#comment-226
k. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/173#comment-224
l. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/176#comment-223
m. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/148#comment-192
n. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/138#comment-171
o. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/174
p. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/159
q. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/205#comment-313
r. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/202#comment-305
s. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/193#comment-306
t. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/187#comment-307
u. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/180#comment-308

III. Poem Collage
a. Reflection – What excited me most about beginning this collage was that I was going to get to apply what I had been learning in my English 121 class to this class. My English 121 class had recently been studying the poet John Keats, so I thought it would be perfect to use him for this collage. The poem I chose is a fairly simple poem. There aren’t too many hidden allusions or anything. It is simply about John Keat’s fear of dying before writing all of the poetry that he wants to write and marrying the woman he loves. I think one of the original comments on this poem was that it was almost too simple. However, that was the point of the collage. He had a simple, straightforward fear so I made the collage as straightforward as the poem. In fact, in revising it I ended up making it even simpler by making all of the collage black and white. The poem is a rather gloomy poem so I made the entire collage black and white so that it would be gloomy too. I enjoyed making this collage for the most part though. However, for some odd reason the GIMP program would randomly “encounter a problem” and close out on me, causing me to have to re do any work that I had done. I have no idea why program kept doing this, but I simply adjusted to it and learned to save my work as often as possible. Through the course of revisions, I think I have created a collage that fully represents what the poem was trying to portray and the tone that it set as well.
b. First draft - http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/65
c. Second Draft - http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/114
d. Final Draft - http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/201

IV. Character Collage
a. Reflection - I was happy when we got this assignment in class because I had used such programs as adobe photoshop and adobe indesign over the years in high school. However, while learning how to use the GIMP program was fairly easy, I kept trying to use it as though it was adobe photoshop. So it took me a while to acclimate myself to using the program. But, once I finally got the hang of using the GIMP program, Ihad a lot of fun with this assignment. I was mainly excited because I had just recently read the book Atonement and proceeded to go see the movie version, which had just come out (and I loved) and was glad that I would get to apply my new love of this book/movie to a class I was in. I was originally going to do the collage on the character of Cecilia, however after searching through images and reflecting on the book I realized that the character with the most complexities was Briony; so I created a collage based on her instead. At first I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to portray Briony and her story through images to where somebody who had no idea who she was would understand the character. I was trying to create the collage for those who didn’t know her. However, I finally acknowledged the fact that Briony and all that she goes through are far too complicated to fully portray through a small collage. So, I created it for those (such as myself) who did know her. I think that with the final version of the collage, I achieved creating something that portrays Briony’s story.
b. First Draft - http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/63
c. Second Draft - http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/113
d. Final Draft - http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/200

V. Playlist
a. Reflection – As I previously said in my reflection. The playlist assignment was my favorite assignment. I love music and books; so getting to combine each element was a lot of fun. Looking back, probably my biggest issue with this project was simply trying to figure out what subject I wanted to do it on. There are so many great characters and personalities in this world that it was hard to chose just one. However, I finally chose the complicated character of Franny because I feel like I know her so well. I have read J.D Salinger’s books on the Glass family so many times that I felt I could do her justice in creating this playlist. I spent a lot of time reviewing all of the music in my itunes library because so many songs related to what Franny was going through. She was experiencing a personal crisis and when it comes to music, if the song isn’t about love the next safest bet is that it is about some emotional issue or crisis. It took me a long time to narrow the music down to just under ten songs. It also took me a while to decide how to order the songs. I had to figure out how each song would work for both what was going on in Franny’s mind and for what was going on around her, in the physical world. The second time I revised it, I tried to better explain how each song applied to Franny in the physical world, not just her emotional world – a world that is fairly easy to get lost in. A part from the video, I am most proud of the final version of this project. I think I successfully portrayed the character of Franny so that both people who already know her and those who don’t could understand her.
b. First and Second Draft - http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/25
c. Final Draft - http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/208

VI. Yellow Wallpaper
a. Reflection – Although this project was my least favorite, the story was one of the more intricate and interesting stories we read this semester so I understand why we spent so much time studying it. I am glad we spent so much time on it because, honestly, the first time I read it I didn’t understand it very well at all. Watching the movie version and looking back on it in preparation for adding comments/thoughts to the story in wikepedia helped me greatly in fully understanding what was occurring in a way that simply reading the text did not. However, I think why in comparison to the other projects I liked this one the least is because every time I would have some kind of realization that I would want to link to the story, I discovered someone had already put it. On the one hand that is good because it helped verify that what I was thinking was true, but it was also frustrating coming up with things to say because I didn’t want to simply restate what the person already said. However, once I finished it and looked back over my contributions to the story links I am still satisfied. I think I managed to still come up with insightful things to say.
b. Links to comments
i. http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:I_sometimes_fancy_t...
ii. http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:And_what_can_one_do...
iii. http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=John
iv. http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:I_would_say_a_haunt...
v. http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=The_front_pattern_does_m...
vi. http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:John_is_so_pleased_...
vii. http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:I_don%27t_sleep_muc...
viii. http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:By_daylight_she_is_...

VII. Video
a. Reflection – Out of all of the projects we have done, this was the one I was most worried about, but it ended up being the most rewarding. I was worried because I had no idea how to use video software and I had never made a video before. However, the Windows moviemaker ended up being really easy to use and I had a lot of fun researching my topic. This was also the most stressful project because after turning in the first version of my video, my computer began its slow death. I spent a lot of time on the revisions for the final version of the video, completed it, and saved it to my jump drive, but I saved it as the wrong kind of file. By the time I discovered this though, my computer was officially dead. I realize that everyone encounters computer difficulties and we are supposed to work through them. I got a new computer yesterday, my first Mac. I have spent quite sometime trying to understand how to use the imovie software and have yet to come up with anything like the final version of the movie I created on windows moviemaker. I will not be able to show you the final version of my video, but I am including in my portfolio the reflection of the revisions I wrote just after completing it. I am proud of my video, but the final version was by far better than the first version. So hopefully an idea of what the final version was like can be understood from the reflection
b. First Draft - http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/175
c. Final Draft - I changed the size, color, and font for all of the text. Several people commented that some of the text was hard to read so I changed all of it to keep it uniform and make it easier to read. I also made the video clip shorter. I left the very end part with the credits are on because of how well it transitioned back to the slides. I took out several of the middle scenes instead in order to keep the nice transitions in. I tried to fade out with other parts of the clip and it didn't work nearly as well. I also made it so the credits scroll down at the end. I didn't realize you could do that before, so they are now easier to read. The last thing I did was change the music a little bit. I realized that the music at the beginning was a little slow to start, but at the time I didn’t understand exactly how to edit the clips of music. But, I went back and learned more about audio stuff of Windows Movie Maker. So I changed it up so that the more interesting music of the soundtrack is playing during the video. Overall, I think the changes I made help the video be a little more fast paced without taking away from the over all slower, quieter tone of the video.

VIII. Final Podcast
a. http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/206#comments
b. Reflection – I really liked this final project because it allowed me to revisit stories from earlier in the semester that I may have otherwise forgotten about. My favorite story from the semester was The Hills Like White Elephants. That is one of the stories we focused on in my podcast, so I was really excited to get to go back and review that story. My group went on the first day and we were still a little unsure of exactly how to proceed. After seeing everyone else’s podcast I wish ours had more discussion in it. We talked about having discussion before we went, however – at least for me – I got kind of nervous and forgot to give others in my group a real chance to discuss the story I had been focusing on. I think Ashley did a good job in remembering that we needed to incorporate more discussion and helped stimulate that towards the end of the podcast. So, I think we had one of the weaker podcasts. However, as I said before, I don’t think it was for lack of effort but more out of nervousness.

Franny Glass Playlist final revision

In this revision I tried to go back and correct any typos. Mainly, I added to the explanation of each song. I talked more about the tune and tempo of each song and how well/not so well it related to what was occurring to Franny. For most of the songs, I also went more in depth on what actual scene in Franny's life the song applied to. So rather than just applying the song to what was going on in Franny's head, I related the songs to what was actually occurring - so that Franny's life could be better visualized in one's mind.

Franny Glass is the protagonist of the “Franny” section in J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey. She is an intelligent college student visiting her boyfriend one weekend while in the midst of a breakdown. She has become disenchanted with college and, for that matter, the life she leads. She is becoming very aware of the conformity and phoniness that surrounds her. She is tired of being “the right girl” at the “right place.” Her boyfriend, of course, does not understand what is suddenly happening with her and, although he does try to help a little bit, he quickly becomes agitated that she is distancing herself from him and ruining what was supposed to be a weekend of friends and football. As Franny experiences this change within herself she also begins to turn to religion.

Here are some songs that describe her character and how she is feeling about herself, her boyfriend and the world around her.

Hate Every Beautiful Day by Sugarcult
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY-VOUsjhSU

This song is about feeling uninspired and being bored with the world. Franny is tired of all that is around her, she is unimpressed by the society she has been brought up in and by what is expected of her. The line "I'm losing, my inspirations gone" particularly works well because that, in short, is what is happening to Franny.

Something's gotta change again
I'm losing, my inspirations gone, oh no oh no
Seeing through some different eyes
I can't find, my medications failed, again again

The tone of his song is somewhat slow paced (at least for this portion of the lyrics) - as Franny is slowly coming to a new realization about life. The leads well into the next song which is for the most part, much more fast paced - Franny's realization of the world is finally coming all together.

No Cigar by Millencolin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtB3bWmenFg

The point of this song is to portray the belief that people shouldn’t have to conform to a certain prototype in order to be cool. This idea is definitely something Franny is starting to believe. As I said in the introduction, Franny is becoming sick of being the “right girl”, she is sick of conforming to what society expects of her in order to be a proper lady. This song fits very well after the last song because in the last song Franny was coming to a realization, she was deep in thought - this song shows what comes of her thoughts, what is generated from all of it.

tell us where you're from
What you want to become
And well say if you're OK
Where did you go to school?
Right answer and you're cool

It’s all Understood by Jack Johnson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2IpxsSj-NY

This song essentially combines the ideas brought up by the past two songs. It emphasizes the monotony of living in a conformist society. It reflects the superficiality and commercialization in each person’s lives as they follow the masses. This is something felt strongly by Franny as she tired of all of the “phoniness” in society. She recognizes the superficiality and repetitiveness and longs to get away from it. This is a very slow-paced song, a change from the two previous rock songs. It is almost as though it is a denoument because the climax of Franny's realizations just occured and this is everything slowing down afterwards.

Everyone laughed at her joke
As if they'd never even heard it before
And maybe they were truly amused
But every word that she spoke was a bore
And maybe it's because they had seen
The previews on the TV screen
Well this part is good and that's well understood
So you should laugh if you know what I mean

The First Singly by The Format
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDvLsC9fCGc

This song takes a step in a slightly different direction as it isn’t about the conformity in society but one’s desire to take a step in a direction. The person in this song wants to shake things up just as Franny wants to shake things up in her own life. I added this song in just to help others understand what is going on in Franny's mind and better relate to her. The song is essentially less extreme than the previous songs but easier for the outsider to relate to.

You know me,
Oh you think you do you, you just don’t seem to see
I've been waiting all this time to be
Something I can't define

Believe by The Bravery
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pNU4RGp2cU

I think this song gets to the heart of what is going on in Franny’s head. She is starting to lose faith in society, in all of those around her, and in life. As the song states, she “needs something more to keep on breathing for.” This helps portray Franny’s decision to start looking into different types of religion. She is looking for answers and she turns to several types, including Hinduism and Buddhism, to give them to her. This song has a catchy but serious sound and chorus. In the book, while having lunch with her boyfriend, Franny goes to the bathroom and just sits there for a while. She just starts letting her thoughts and emotions overtake her and I imagined this song playing while Franny goes through this emotional moment.

So give me something to believe
Cause I am living just to breathe
And I need something more
To keep on breathing for
So give me something to believe

Fallen Interlude by Blink 182
http://music.aol.com/song/the-fallen-interlude/5201757

I have always really liked this interlude. The part I previously mentioned in the book where Franny is in the bathroom by herself thinking while her boyfriend waits for her in the restaurant they are having lunch at has to do with this interlude as well. I imagined this playing as Franny finally began to collect herself after letting all of the emotion overtake her. The ending of the last song becomes soft in the end, which melts really well into this interlude as it has a very soft, meditative feel to it.

Instrumental

Love Song by Sarah Bareilles
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdE5nrYA5pw

This is the one song meant to portray her relationship with her boyfriend, who is experience her mental breakdown first hand. Just as Sarah will not write her boyfriend a love song just because he asks her to in this song, Franny has decided that she is not going to be the perfect, upper class, ivy league girl for her boyfriend just because he wants her to. After Franny leaves the bathroom to return to her boyfriend, the reader sees Franny become more openly agitated with him. This is why this song goes so well with this part. While she does not say it in this explicit of terms, the lyrics of this song are essentially what she is thinking. The tune/tempo of the song does not go very well with this particular moment in Franny's life but the perfection of the lyrics overshadow this fact.

I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's
Make or breaking this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If all you have is leaving I'm gonna need a better
Reason to write you a love song today

Smile Like You Mean It by The Killers
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1p_NHFd8jM

I believe this adds to Franny’s mindset because it portrays Franny as she looks back over the past few years realized how much she has changed. What she wanted out of life then isn’t what she wants now. I imagined this playing as Franny and her boyfriend left the restaurant. As they leave the restaurant, even more thoughts go through Franny's mind - particularly reflections on the time she has spent with her boyfriend in the past.

Looking back at sunsets on the Eastside
We lost track of the time
Dreams aren't what they used to be
Some things sat by so carelessly

The Cottage on the Beach by Dario Marianelli
http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewA...

This song is from the soundtrack of Atonement. I am basically obsessed with this soundtrack, I think the sound is beautiful and compelling. It doesn’t directly relate to Franny, however I could imagine this playing as she returned back to college on the train, thinking to herself. The faster pace of the previous song juxtaposes well with the slow yet dramatic pace of this song. It is great background music for any moment of the same tempo - slow but dramatic. That is exactly how I imagined Franny returning to college. What has occurred to her is dramatic, and she would simply be sitting on the train reflecting on everything. Again, this scene does not actually occur in the book, it is one I made up but I though it would be a good ending to the play list.

Instrumental

Jane Austen Video

At first, I was really worried about this project as I am not very computer savvy. When it comes to things such as photoshop and GIMP, I am great however, I have never created a video before. But, I ended up really enjoying this project. I am studying Jane Austen in my other English class and the movie Becoming Jane, which I love, just recently came out on DVD. Thus, the idea for my project was born. I decided to research just how accurate the movie really was in portraying a section of Jane Austen’s life. Luckily, there are hundreds of Jane Austen fan sites which discussed this very topic. I not only learned more about the author but I discovered fun facts about the movie as well. The video consists of the different truths and untruths of the movie as well as clips of the trailer of the movie to give those who have never seen it a better understanding of what I am talking about. I also used the soundtrack to the movie (which was very conveniently located on Youtube) as the background music for this video. I used the GIMP program (which I used for the collages) to create many of the images that appear during the video. Enjoy!

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

I was unable to make it to class today, however I was very fascinated and creeped out - like every one else who has commented on it - by this story. It reminded me of all of the stories people hear now about online predators. Young girls meet people over the internet thinking they are nice and harmless only to eventually discover they are not. Connie walked outside her house and talked to this person thinking he was harmless - that she was harmlessly chatting with a guy who thought she was pretty - only to discover that he was actually dangerous.
This story definitely caught my attention in general simply because when I started to read it, I did not expect any of that to happen. The first few pages led me to believe that this was a story about a young girl's relationship with her mother and just in general about growing up.
I also think the title is in relation to where she has been equals where she is going. She chose to flirt with guys she doesn't really know without her parents ever knowing; so now she is being forced to continue this against her will.

The Things They Carried

I just finished reading "The Things They Carried" and thought it was really interesting. At first I had a hard time with it. Even with the title in mind, I still didn't understand why the author felt the need to go into such detail of every little thing each character carried on practically every page and got bored. But after looking over it again, I realized that it is not so much what they carried that mattered but what it represented. The items not only stood for both the physical and emotional baggage that they carried around but it explained who each person was as an individual in comparison to the rest. By looking at what each person carried the reader was able to get a small glimpse of the personality of each person and the kind of life they led.

Midterm Portfolio

Reflection
I have really enjoyed this English class thus far in the semester. It is nice to look at literature and stories in a new light such as collages rather than through just a paper. My favorite assignment was the Playlist assignment. I love music and I love reading, so getting to combine those elements, for a grade no less, was a lot of fun. Franny and Zooey is one of my favorite books and creating a playlist was a great excuse to read it yet again. Creating the collages was interesting as well. I worked with adobe photoshop a lot in high school for my publications class so I had a pretty easy time learning how to use the program GIMP. I had the most fun creating the character collage as I had just recently read the book Atonement and watched the movie. I am basically in love with that story so, like with Franny and Zooey, the collage was a great excuse to read it and reflect on it again. One of the most interesting things about the Yellow Wallpaper assignment was that it made me notice certain things about the story that I had not previously noticed. For example, I would be looking at the story on Wikilit and see a link for a sentence that I had not really thought that much of. However, reading a comment someone made about it made me realized things that I had not previously thought of. The story I liked the most thus far was the Hills Like White Elephants while my least favorite story was the Bride Comes to Yellow Sky. Overall, I have had a great time in this class and can't wait to start on the next project.

Comments
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/80#comment-43
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/82#comment-55
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/70#comment-56
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/49#comment-57
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/112#comment-142
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/103#comment-143

Revised playlist
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/25

Original Poem Collage
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/65
Revised Poem Collage
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/114\

Original Character Collage
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/63
Revised Character Collage
http://www.teachmix.com/itsfiction/?q=node/113

The Yellow Wallpaper LitWiki
http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:I_sometimes_fancy_t....
http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:And_what_can_one_do...
http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=John
http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:I_would_say_a_haunt...
http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=The_front_pattern_does_m...
http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:John_is_so_pleased_....
http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:I_don%27t_sleep_muc....
http://www.teachmix.com/litwiki/index.php?title=Talk:By_daylight_she_is_....

Updated Franny Glass's Playlist

I added an explanation of each song and how it relates to Franny Glass in order for everybody to better understand the connection between each.

Franny glass is the protagonist of the “Franny” section in J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey. She is an intelligent college student visiting her boyfriend one weekend while in the midst of a breakdown. She has become disenchanted with college and, for that matter, the life she leads. She is becoming something aware of the conformity and phoniness that surrounds her. She is tired of being “the right girl” at the “right place.” Her boyfriend, of course, does not understand what is suddenly happening with her and, although he does try to help a little bit, he quickly becomes agitated that she is distancing herself from him and ruining what was supposed to be a weekend of friends and football. As Franny experiences this change within herself she also begins to turn to religion.

Here are some songs that describe her character and how she is feeling about herself, her boyfriend and the world around her.

Hate Every Beautiful Day by Sugarcult
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY-VOUsjhSU

This song is about feeling uninspired and being bored with the world. Franny is tired of all that is around her, she is unimpressed by the society she has been brought up in and by what is expected of her.
Something's gotta change again

I'm losing, my inspirations gone, oh no oh no
Seeing through some different eyes
I can't find, my medications failed, again again

No Cigar by Millencolin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtB3bWmenFg

The point of this song is to portray the belief that people shouldn’t have to conform to a certain prototype in order to be cool. This idea is definitely something Franny is starting to believe. As I said in the introduction, Franny is becoming sick of being the “right girl”, she is sick of conforming to what society expects of her in order to be a proper lady.

tell us where you're from
What you want to become
And well say if you're OK
Where did you go to school?
Right answer and you're cool

It’s all Understood by Jack Johnson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2IpxsSj-NY

This song essentially combines the ideas brought up by the past two songs. It emphasizes the monotony of living in a conformist society. It reflects the superficiality and commercialization in each person’s lives as they follow the masses. This is something felt strongly by Franny as she tired of all of the “phoniness” in society. She recognizes the superficiality and repetitiveness and longs to get away from it.

Everyone laughed at her joke
As if they'd never even heard it before
And maybe they were truly amused
But every word that she spoke was a bore
And maybe it's because they had seen
The previews on the TV screen
Well this part is good and that's well understood
So you should laugh if you know what I mean

The First Singly by The Format
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDvLsC9fCGc

This song takes a step in a different direction as it isn’t about the conformity in society but one’s desire to take a step in a direction. The person in this song wants to shake things up just as Franny wants to shake things up in her own life.

You know me,
Oh you think you do you, you just don’t seem to see
I've been waiting all this time to be
Something I can't define

Believe by The Bravery
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pNU4RGp2cU

I think this song gets to the heart of what is going on in Franny’s head. She is starting to lose faith in society, in all of those around her, and in life. As the song states, she “needs something more to keep on breathing for.” This helps portray Franny’s decision to start looking into different types of religion. She is looking for answers and she turns to several types, including Hinduism and Buddhism, to give them to her.

So give me something to believe
Cause I am living just to breathe
And I need something more
To keep on breathing for
So give me something to believe

Fallen Interlude by Blink 182
http://music.aol.com/song/the-fallen-interlude/5201757

I have always really liked this interlude. There is a part in the book where Franny is in the bathroom by herself thinking while her boyfriend waits for her in the restaurant they are having lunch at. I imaged this song playing as she collected her thoughts.

Instrumental

Love Song by Sarah Bareilles
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdE5nrYA5pw

This is the one song meant to portray her relationship with her boyfriend, who is experience her mental breakdown first hand. Just as Sarah will not write her boyfriend a love song just because he asks her to in this song, Franny has decided that she is not going to be the perfect, upper class, ivy league girl for her boyfriend just because he wants her to.

I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's
Make or breaking this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If all you have is leaving I'm gonna need a better
Reason to write you a love song today

Smile Like You Mean It by The Killers
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1p_NHFd8jM

I believe this adds to Franny’s mindset because it portrays Franny as she looks back over the past few years realized how much she has changed. What she wanted out of life then isn’t what she wants now.

Looking back at sunsets on the Eastside
We lost track of the time
Dreams aren't what they used to be
Some things sat by so carelessly

The Cottage on the Beach by Dario Marianelli
http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewA...

This song is from the soundtrack of Atonement. I am basically obsessed with this soundtrack, I think the sound is beautiful and compelling. It doesn’t directly relate to Franny, however I could imagine this playing as she returned back to college on the train, thinking to herself. Again, this scene does not actually occur in the book, it is one I made up but I though it would be a good ending to the play list.

Instrumental

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