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| Plot Summary of Marley and Me |
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"John Grogan is a very young man when this book starts out. He'a just gotten married to Jenny Vogt. Both of them are journalists. They're living the sweet life in Florida when Jenny becomes so upset after she kills a houseplant (she worries that this means that she's incapable of being a good mother) that they decide to buy a dog, to give her the nurturing experience she so desperately wants.
They pick out a yellow lab puppy whom they'll name Marley. His mama is about the best dog ever, but soon after they put their money down, they discover that his daddy, on the other hand, is a terror. This scene sets you up for the much of the rest of the book, which will describe what it's like for Grogan's family (which will eventually grow to include three children) to live with what they lovingly call the world's worst dog.
Marley will flunk out of obedience school. He'll come very close to having nervous breakdowns whenever there's thunder and lightning. He terrorizes petsitters, making it hard for John and his bride ever to go on vacation. He plays havoc with their sex life, shreds furniture, and swallows a valuable necklace.
When she has tiny children to take care of, Jenny finally reaches the point where she's had enough. But they end up sticking with Marley, who they come to love deeply and who will, believe it or not, become a movie star.
I laughed and laughed reading most of this book. Reading about Marley reaching the point where he was doddering was hard, though.
I was interested to learn that Grogan apparently has written about Marley in columns for his current paper - the Philadelphia Inquirer -as well on a blog.
"
Ann Gaines, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Marley and Me |
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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
Animal story?
Yes
Kind of animal:
- dog (non-Pomeranian)
Period of greatest activity?
- 1950+
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Ethnicity
- White
Nationality
- American (!)
How sensitive is this person?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southeast
- Northeast
Century:
- 1980's-Present
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Book makes you feel?
- very happy
Is book humorous?
Yes
If humorous, kind of humor
- gentle
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- impregnation/reproduction
Writer's slant towards subject:
- favorable
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of set of events during life
Autobiography?
Yes
Pictures/Illustrations?
- None
How much dialogue in bio?
- significantly more dialog than descript
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life?
- 0-25% of book
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Click here for more information about this book
John Grogan Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Ann Gaines
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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