Paige’s Comments (group member since Sep 06, 2011)

Paige’s comments from the MHS AP Language group.

As our reading of this crazy, crazy, story comes to a close, the diary finishes with a final murder and an accomplice as our leading man states: "Barbara will be my mentor..." (pg.117) Barbara, the lover, finds Tania Torq (the computer) and all of her detailed files. To Reece’s surprise, Barbara teams up with him rather than running away and calling the police. (Wonderful, we now have a couple of psychos in our midst). By the way, “Barbara” briefly reveals she too has a criminal past, and her real name is Chantelle. But for now on, I’ll continue to refer to her as Barbara.
Next, Reece writes, "I need number 12, although I think this will not be a solo job of research. For the last, Barbara can be my research assistant. I think I have done enough to prove I can get into a serial killer mentality and somewhere there has to be a reward for my diligence and her support. We will erase Mick from his timeline." (pg. 131) Mick, by the way, is a sort of roommate or something of Barbara’s who for months on end constantly harassed Barbara. Ironically, Reece thinks of Mitch this way: "I reckon Mitch watches porn and sees women as an outlet for sex, nothing more." (pg. 130) I feel like this is hypocritical of him to say because he once was the same way, prior to or at the beginning of his “research.” Perhaps his view has changed since he met and fell in love with Barbara.
So, to help prepare for the final murder, just like our first book, “Knickers Galore,” Reece dresses up as a woman, known as Regina. Sick enough, he uses this disguise (Apparently he looks good enough to pull it off) to attract Mick, and eventually enter his apartment. Reece stated, "I was actually enjoying my new role. There is a certain power in being a woman." (pg. 120) Eventually, “Regina” reveals his (er..her?) true identity and with the help of Barbara, allows Mick to…er… “come to death.” That’s right. They bought an electroejaculator, and forced it into him, and apparently, it was possible for him to continuously ejaculate until he died. Graphic enough for ya?
Finally, at the end, Reece reviews that he, indeed, did change perspective through his research, stating: “now my view of the world has changed and I must apologize to some of those poor unfortunates who were the subject of my research…Although an apology will not bring them back, their deaths may help others to see that who and what they are is a product of many factors and the world out there contains many victims of a somewhat heartless society. This I realise is a simplistic and bleak view of life but as I think back over some of my research subjects, I begin to wonder about their lives…” (pg. 142)
In a final review, I state: Creepy, gory, graphic, intense. If it wasn't for the fact that I had to read a "psychopath" themed book for school, I wouldn't really have a reason to read this. It gets weirder and weirder as the main character, a curious writer, goes from a lonely, sketchy writer who conducts research for his stories to a freakish, psycho serial killer. To top it off, he finds a lover who turns out to be as crazy as he is who eventually teams up with him. If you like horror and suspense, I guess this is for you. Otherwise, I wouldn't really recommend it. Especially for those with a sensitive heart and a sensitive stomach.

Sorry for being graphic, but this is how the story is told. But worse.

I also found that yes, most, but not all, of his victims are women. He did say that he wanted to mix up the variety of his victims, and he tries to by killing a man and some religious figures. As his "research" carries on he, like I said before, is transitioning from a writer with a crazy perspective to a psychotic serial killer, which, I'm wondering was his intention. I don't believe it was his intention to become so involved in his "research," but he is anyway. We see that with the first murder that was triggered by more than just research material, when he had dinner at the Clarkes' and Helen, in which he killed all four (three?) of them. Not only was it horrifying knowing that he killed multiple people at once this time, but what he did after was what, I believe transitioned him. After they lay dead, he dragged them to the bedroom, cut them open, and smeared the blood around the walls showing KKK and Satanist logos, "to make things interesting for the media," (52) From this point on, it seems as though he is going way beyond his research, including the killing of the priest (and the bishop?) and has officially become a psychopathic serial killer. This story has reached a new level of disturbing, creepyness.

Sorry this is wicked late.
Anyway, during this second time reading I agree with Amanda in that “Reece” (56) finally had become a bit paranoid of getting caught, even after he was seeking more of a thrill from each kill he had done." But what was most interesting to me is that rather than just killing for his research, the main character, who we find out is named "Reece," is actually becoming more willingly involved in his killings, and actually enjoying it. He also is starting to, as Amanda said, become more and more paranoid as the number of his victims adds up, and he actually buys multiple newspapers and magazines as the "mysteries" of the murders are being reported, and putting them with the "Research Folder" on his CPU Friend Tania. In addition to more brutal, graphic, disgusting, (and according to naive reports, religious), murders, like Joel and Amanda, I found that he is getting super close to this Barbara, (pg. 58) and she calls him by his real name Reece opposed to "Shooter," like all the other women at his work, which is a degrading sexual innuendo nickname. We know, or assume rather, that he will not touch her, (He did say that he would not make her a victim, I think in our last reading session, around page 42 or so,) In my head when I am thinking as I am reading however, "BARBARA, GET AWAY FROM HIM," because she has no idea what a psychopathic problem he is, and she seems sweet and innocent to him. Later, they have an affair, and she becomes more involved in his life, still unaware of what he really is.

Another interesting part of this book lies in the introduction. It's sort of a background, which describes how this content, including photos was "found on a computer," of someone irrelevent to the crimes. Reading this at the beginning made me think that this book was a recorded document found on a real criminal's computer, but I looked at the page before it and realized it was a work of fiction. However, without knowing this book was fiction, the writing sends shivers up the readers' spines as the read about all the blood and gore and pornographic obsessions the writer talks about. It is realistic in a way that the images are disturbingly graphic, but it is one of those stories that, if it were a real account, should never be a movie, should never be released to the public or anything. Reading this makes me feel sick and twisted and disturbed.
Yet, at the same time, this is what makes the writer such a good writer.

oh and my last part "we can see that he is a psychopath..." was in accordance with Joel [:

I agree with Amanda, reading this (fictional-thank God) story so far also reminded me of "Knickers Galore," because of it's rare first person point of view and the main character's strange obsessions. He begins his tale talking about how he loves writing, and his friend (a computer,) Tania Troq helps him to do so. He has written novels before but now he really wants one that is interesting and decides to write about serial killing. In order to do so, he sets out on his hands-on research, to "kill 12 people in 12 months."
From then on, we read quite literally as if from the diary of a psychopathic serial killer, the raw,graphic, disturbing, details of the crime scenes, the emotions he feels before, after and during while they are still fresh in his psychotic mind, and any other thought that comes into his brain including that of his past; he comes from a family in which he has an abusive mother who haunts him, a passive father (as Joel had said,) and an aunt who when he was a child had started a sexual relationship with him when he was 12, but died when he was 16.
Besides the fact that the main character briefly mentioned Sydney, we can see by the language and grammar that this novel would be written by someone British or Australian (in this case, Aussie.) We can see this because of the replacement of the letter 'z' for the letter 's' in words such as realize (realise) and the extra 'u' put in words such as color (colour) as well as the endless vocabulary of terms such as "bloke," "tart," "wank," and many more.
The writing reminds me of an extreme Edgar Allen Poe/Gothic novel with a blend of modern controversial language and topics.
Lastly, we can see that he is a psychopath, and not just a cruel angry person for a few key reasons. One of them being that he sets out his murders at random, male, female, young, old, and without conscience. He also makes his own weapons, documents the events all on his computer, taking pictures and recording his experiences all for the "research" of his writing.
In addition, it does seem a little crazy that his only friend in the world is his computer, Tania, who he refers to as if it truly is a 'she,' and not an 'it.' She 'does everything for him,' Tania "helps" him with his research, "gets him hot when [he] needs to be," and basically is there for him all the time.
Crazy, but True. I am a little scared yet eager to continue reading.

Diary of a Serial Killer This is the book we have chosen for this round.

One more thing to add. I agree with you, Kristine when you said "What still astonished me throught the whole book that I have noticed is that how many people caught both Eric and Dylan doing things that are necessarily mentally stable yet not much was done about it." because in like, the second section that we read, Eric & Dylan got in much trouble with the police and other class mates for years before they even started to plan the attack on Columbine. They had criminal records, a threatening web site which nobody took seriously, and not to mention how they were reported bullies, as well. Knowing this, I feel like with them in the federal system, why didn't anyone see this coming? Why couldn't this have been prevented?

We did it! Finished Columbine! I thought it was a very well told recollection of the ill fate that occurred on April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School researched and written by journalist Dave Cullen over a period of about 10 years.
And to Amanda, I thought it was interesting when you mentioned about how Eric & Dylan and how they were diagnosed to be psychopaths, and said "as if people could not figure that out before." At first, I totally agreed and thought it should have been obvious too that Dylan & Eric were psychopaths, considering all that they had done. However, we found out that it takes a lot more complications than just being a killer to be considered a psychopath. Especially as we looked through chapter 40, Cullen describes what it actually means to be a psychopath. For example on page 239, “Eric was neither normal nor insane. Psychopathy represents a third category. Psychopathic brains don’t function like those in either of the other groups, but they are consistently similar to one another. Eric killed for two reasons: to demonstrate his superiority and to enjoy it.” I think this brings up a very interesting point in both the analyzation of this book and the purpose of our group topic. Psychopaths have a developed mental instability. So I think that psychopaths aren’t really mentally retarded, as much as they are confused. I only say this because Eric and Dylan were fully aware of what they were doing and were planning it for two years straight.
And hey yeah I noticed that too, that it seemed like the focus was more on Eric than on Dylan. I think that was because Dylan was, in a way more like the sidekick while Eric seemed to be the mastermind. Dylan particularly was a really depressed, suicidal kid who had as much hatred within him as Eric, but kind of just went along with what Eric had in store for Columbine High. Eric did most of the planning, so perhaps this is why he was more of the main focus.
Something that scared me a little was how there were moments where I felt bad for the Killers, in particular, Dylan, because we got a look into their lives, and really they were just ordinary, yet troubled kids. There were points where I felt like all they needed was someone to reach out to them. I could also feel the pain of their parents too, because 1. Naturally, everyone will blame them, and 2. They could possibly be the loneliest people on the planet, because they lost children too and nobody in the world is going to sympathize with the parents of killers. The fact that I felt these sympathizing emotions showed what a great journalist Cullen is.
All in all, Dave Cullen did the best possible job that a journalist could ever do in the Columbine coverage. I liked how he ended too, because after all this in-depth research and tell-all from the scene of the crime to the secret journals the killing pair kept to the victims and survivors and their families’ points of view to the media coverage and the police investigations, how do you end such a story? In the final chapter, chapter 53, At the Broken Places, Cullen talked about the memorial ceremony and how some of the survivors, including Patrick are doing now. The final paragraph, describing how, “thirteen doves were released, [and] Seconds later, two hundred more fluttered free,” symbolizing the victims of the tragedy was truly touching because of the impact this tragedy had on the entire country.

Good Resource for those who are interested in reading the book:
Dave Cullen’s official site w/ info about the book, all evidence, and all his research: http://www.columbine-online.com/
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA22SK...

For our vacation section, we had to read Part 2 (After and Before) and Part 3 (The Downward Spiral) of Columbine. (Up to page 237) In part 2, the speaker takes the audience through an in-depth look at both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, aka the Columbine Killers. It talks about their childhood, their likes and dislikes, and of course, their build up of getting in trouble in the past.
In chapter 29, The Missions, a third character is introduced named Zack, and a fourth named Brooks Brown. For a while, Eric was getting himself in trouble with Brooks Brown. Beginning on page 161, Brooks and Eric got into a snowball fight, and then Eric pushed it up a notch by throwing ice at Brooks’ windshield. Naturally, Brooks’ mother contacted Eric’s and Eric was forced to apologize. Yet after that incident, Eric continuously sought revenge. “Missions” were different pranks and stunts that Eric, Dylan and Zack pulled on several occasions. Brooks became one of the victims who the three boys would pull these on. From that point, Eric’s father, Wayne kept a journal every time something happens. In one entry, he wrote, “We feel victimized too. We don’t want to be accused every time something happens. Eric is not at fault. Brooks Brown is out to get Eric. Brooks had problems with other boys. Manipulative Con-Artist.”
In “The Downward Spiral,” the speaker starts by talking a little about Dylan’s background, implying him to be a suicidal loner with a lot of mental problems. He too, kept a journal, just like Eric, and in it was also a list of things he hates, but mostly a lot of his hatred was directed towards himself. (Pg.174-176)
One of the most interesting parts of this section I read over vacation took place on pg. 185 where “a concerned citizen” (Brooks Brown’s father) shared Eric’s hate website with the police on August 7, 1997. One year eight months and thirteen days before the Columbine massacre. I found this interesting because it seemed that the police took it serious but not serious enough to actually do anything about it, not enough to confront them or the parents about it. I feel like Columbine could have been stopped if maybe these boys were treated for mental health problems when this website was “discovered.”
After the insight of Dylan and Eric’s backgrounds, the speaker talks more about the victims and the analysis of the massacre, including more about Patrick Ireland, who woke up in the hospital barely being able to speak and worrying about when he could get back to school to finish his finals, unaware of the significance of the event that happened.

Yes, we had to read part one which was up to page 98. This section, only about one-third of the book, was already pretty engaging, bringing the audience to meet each character, the murderers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, some of the faculty like Frank DeAngelis (aka Mr. D) and Dave Sanders, and some of the victims such as Patrick Ireland, Rachel Scott, Danny, Cassie, Chris and all the others. In addition to meeting these characters and getting to know who they were pre-attack, we get to see what Columbine High looks and feels like. The first chapter introduces Mr. D giving his lecture a few days before Prom encouraging them to be careful in the decisions they make and to avoid bad decisions, (such as drunk driving etc.) because he loves them, and “he want[s] to see each and every one of [their] bright, smiling faces again Monday morning.” (pg. 4) After a description of his speech and how the students cheered him on, the narrator proceeds with, “All two thousand students would return safely on Monday morning, after the prom. But the following afternoon, Tuesday, April 20, 1999, twenty-four of Mr. D’s kids and faculty members would be loaded into ambulances and rushed to hospitals…” (pg. 4) I think this was a chilling, yet highly appropriate way to introduce the Columbine controversy, because it shifts from normal school environment to like, a “whoa” moment. And that is exactly what Columbine kind of was. Average kids. Nobody saw it coming. In that sense, Amanda, I agree with how you said “that only brought me to thinking about how people amongst our student body could be like that. Seeing how Cullen wrote about these seemingly normal students, no one really knows who they are outside of school,” because I felt the same way. Out of curiosity, knowing Columbine was real, I googled ‘Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris,’ just to see what they really looked like, and just how author Dave Cullen described, they were average students, with a 2-year backed mass murder plan. To be honest, I was afraid to go back to school after reading this section.
As I continued to read this story, I couldn’t help but literally cry (and by cry, I mean sob with tears pouring down my face) as I felt the physical pain of the victims, such as Patrick Ireland (who ended up with a lead pellet that would remain in his brain for the rest of his life,) and the emotional pain of both the school member’s families, like Linda Lou-the wife of Dave Sanders, (on pg. 97. This line was touching to me: “Linda tried to sleep. That was useless. She curled up with a pair of Dave’s socks.”) Another eerie yet well written moment Cullen included the scene where there was still groups of families waiting for the “last bust” with the final survivors to come from the school; a bus that would never come. According to one of the parents, it “was like a false hope they gave you.” (pg. 94) This situation, combined with an outbreak of mixed messages coming from the media (such as that from Sheriff Stone on page 86,) left families of victims in more suspenseful anticipation then they needed to be in. I personally like the way Dave Cullen covered the story, capturing all the chilling action and horror exactly how it is supposed to be.

What is the What was a long, long read. I did not mind reading it, but it is not something I would read in my spare time really. The purpose of this work was to recall what had happened and what is happening in Sudan and other regions in Africa, and I liked that Valentino was able to tell his story. However, I kept feeling his pain and it was, to tell the truth, bumming me out. I think that was part of the purpose though, the author used this technique to let the reader feel what Valentino went through, which, obviously was successful. I liked how so many people reached how to Valentino, however, everyone was so charitable when he came to America.