Saturday, October 30, 2010

Gone For Good

In the novel, Gone For Good, author Harlan Coben starts the story off with Will’s mother lying in her death bed. His mother leans over and tells Will that his brother Ken is still alive, and with that a few minutes later, his mother passes away. Will is in shock because he has not seen his brother in 10 years. 10 years ago, Will’s ex-girlfriend/neighbor passed away and Ken was the prime suspect. When police started asking questions to Ken, he disappeared and was never seen. Now with this new information of his brother, Will starts researching and finds more information about his brother. In his mother’s room, he finds a picture of his brother at a ski resort. Will is in shock that his brother is actually still alive and goes out to find him. Through series of different obstacles getting in his way and with the help from his friends, Will eventually finds Ken. Alone together, Will asks Ken if he murdered his ex-girlfriend. Without fully answering the question, Ken replies, “You I’ve hurt the most,” then disappears again. I don’t want to say too much without giving away the ending, but Will finds out that his brother Ken has taken something from him. Ken took something that was of great importance to Will and his ex-girlfriend. Will eventually finds out what he has taken and with the help of his friend, gets what Ken has taken back.

Discussion Questions:
1. If you found out that someone very important in your life has taken something of great value of yours, as Ken did to his brother, how would you encounter them?
2. Family seems to be a main concept in the novel. Will’s brother betrayed him, but he still set out to find him to know the truth and to see him because he loved him. Would you be able to forgive family if they have done something to hurt you? Why or why not?

8 comments:

Kaitlyn H 11-12 said...

2. Yes, I would be able to forgive a family member even if they hurt me for two reasons; first of all, it's better to just forgive and forget, and secondly, it's really hard to stay mad at the people you love.

Courtney R 5-6 said...

To answer the first question, I'm not fully sure how i would approach someone very important to me that has taken something of mine. I most definitely would not want to make him or her feel bad about it, but at the same time, something must be done to keep it from happening again.
I believe that I would be able to forgive a family memeber if they hurt me. It may be hard, but I could do it because they are family and with family comes love. It's like what my mom always says to me, "I love you forever and ever, no matter what." The family memeber may need to be punished, but that doesn't mean he or she shouldn't be forgiven.

tyler k 13-14 said...

I think it would be a little easier to approacha family member in that situation because its a little more persona. Firstly, its definately easier to forgive but secondly, I think it would be easier to find the motive and understand why they had done it.

tyler k 13-14 said...

I think it would be a little easier to approach a family member in that situation because its a little more personal. Firstly, its definately easier to forgive but secondly, I think it would be easier to find the motive and understand why they had done it.

Kara K. 5/6 said...

1) I would probably encounter them face to face. I would be calm to them, yet stern. It hurts when someone in your life that is important to you betrays you in any way.
2) I would be able to forgive my family is they did something to hurt me. It would take a long time to totaly forgive them and be close again; howevr, I could never be mad at a family member for long. They are always going to be in your life, so if you do not forgive them, then your life will become terible. I feel that family members should always forgive family members. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone needs to be loved by someone or they will feel lonely and depressed; therefore, people need to learn to forgive or everyone will become lonely.

LibbyS5/6 said...

To answer question 2, I would be able to fogive my brother for just about anything. Family is the most important thing we have. Even after a fight with my parents we can't stay mad at each other for long, because the love you have for your family is more important than anything else

Leah A 5-6 said...

i agree that family is the most important thing. I also could not stay mad at them either. It is hard to stay mad at people that you are always going to be around and are in your life.

Mrs. Sherwood said...

closed