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| Plot Summary of True Notebooks |
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"When author Mark Salzman is half-cajoled, half-tricked into leading a creative writing course at a Los Angeles' Central Juvenile Hall, a prison for the city's most violent teenage offenders, he is full of apprehensions. Initially, he feels little sympathy for gangsters and criminals, and is not sure what he, as a successful white man from Connecticut, can say to connect with a group of boys from the LA ghettos.
His class begins with a group of four boys, but soon grows to almost unmanageable numbers; every student wants to bring along a friend or cellmate who is interested in writing. With simple prompts from Mark, the inmates write about their life experiences, thoughts, and fears through memoir, fiction, and poetry (excerpts of their work is quoted at length). Even though he knows that most of his students have been accused of murder and may spend the next few decades in prison, Mark finds many reasons to persevere. He grows to understand and care about the boys in his workshop, even to the point of attending a trial and offering to serve as a character witness. "
Jacqueline West, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of True Notebooks |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Kids:
- committing crimes
Which institution
- prison
Life in an institution
Yes
Period of greatest activity?
- 1950+
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Biography of famous person?
Yes
Ethnicity
- White
Nationality
- American (!)
How sensitive is this person?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other people
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 5 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
Misc setting
- prison
Century:
- 1980's-Present
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Book makes you feel?
- concerned
Is book humorous?
Yes
If humorous, kind of humor
- eccentric personalities
- sarcastic/sardonic
- gentle
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Lot of foul language?
Yes
Commentary on society?
Yes
Commentary on
- justice system
Writer's slant towards subject:
- very favorable
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of set of events during life
Autobiography?
Yes
Pictures/Illustrations?
- None
How much dialogue in bio?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life?
- 26-50% of book
How much is philosophy rather than life story?
- 0-25% of book
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Click here for more information about this book
Mark Salzman Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Jacqueline West
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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