Sunday, October 17, 2010

Marley and Me by John Grogan

Marley and Me, by John Grogan, is a witty book that describes the life of two newlyweds living in South Florida. They're both living the sweet life, both working as journalists, but Jenny becomes upset after she kills another houseplant. She worries this means she is incapable of being a good mother so they get a puppy to give her the nurturing experience she desperately wants. They pick out an adoarable, innocent looking puppy, and eventaully name him Marley. They soon find out how not-so-innocent Marley really is and attempt to train him but nothing works. Marley terrorizes petsitters and neighbors, shreds new furniture, swallows a vaulable necklace, and goes insane whenever there is a thunderstorm. Despite him causing all this trouble Marley stays with the Groban's. He is there for Jenny when she suffers from her first miscarriage and eventually witnesses the births of their three children, a hurricane, and the ups and downs of their journalist jobs. He grows old with the Grogan's and they love him unconditionally until the end, despite all his mishaps.

Discussion questions:
1. The subtitle of Marley and Me is "Love and Life with the World's Worst Dog", do you think that Marley deserves the title of "The Worlds Worst Dog"?
2. What is unconditional love when it comes to a pet? Do you think you could have provided unconditional love for Marley? Why or why not?

10 comments:

Betsy C 1314 said...

To answer the first question, I don't think that he deserves the worlds worst dog title. He unknowingly helps the couple to become closer and remains the constant in their relationship. In a way, he helps to maintain normalcy, in that they can always count on him to be a spaz and trouble waiting to happen. Even though hes a pain in the but, I dont think that they would trade him for anything.

McKenzieM 11-12 said...

Yeah I definitely agree with you. I think that him being there makes their relationship more interesting because they never know what to expect with him! Marley was with them through so much and made their life better in a way. He made life bearable when things were going completely wrong.

Kali D. 13-14 said...

To answer your first question i think he does not deserve to be called the worlds worst dog because he brings the family closer in together and helps them through their rough times. Sure he misbehaves but so does every other dog.

McKenzieM 11-12 said...

I also think that they love him so much that it cancels out some of the bad things he does, making them closer. He was their first real thing they had to take care of and they learned together. So I agree, I think he helped them be a family through all his havoc.

McKenzieM 11-12 said...

I also think that they love him so much that it cancels out some of the bad things he does, making them closer. He was their first real thing they had to take care of and they learned together. So I agree, I think he helped them be a family through all his havoc.

Dana G. 13-14 said...

2. What is unconditional love when it comes to a pet? Do you think you could have provided unconditional love for Marley? Why or why not?

In my opinion, unconditional love is when a pet does not know a persons past, how they feel, or what they, the animal, did wrong. They may know you are upset, but they do not hold a grudge on you, and they will always come back to love you. Whether you give them the same love in return is up to you. I would have unconditional love for Marley. Although it sounds like he was not the most behaved dog, he did not do anything intensionally.

LeahS11-12 said...

To answer your second question, I believe that the unconditional love when it comes to a pet is much like the unconditional love that one has for their family. You accept the responsibility for the pet when you first adopt it, most times without knowing what to expect from it. A pet has their own personality and flaws, just like any member of a family, but we love them unconditionally just the same. I think that I could see myself providing this type of love for Marley because I have a puppy at home that is less than a year old, so I know how badly behaved dogs can really be a pain. But no matter what he does/eats/destroys, I know that having him in my life is worth it.

Joe K. 11-12 said...

I think the title of "worst" dog is ironic because it seems as though Marley is the best dog. Throughout their lives Marley is their for them, acting as a companion and bringning joy to their lives. Although marley does alot of bad things, Marleys overall impact on a grander scale proves the "worst dog" title to be sarcastic.

Joe K. 11-12 said...

I think the title of "worst" dog is ironic because it seems as though Marley is the best dog. Throughout their lives Marley is their for them, acting as a companion and bringning joy to their lives. Although marley does alot of bad things, Marleys overall impact on a grander scale proves the "worst dog" title to be sarcastic.

Kristen R. 11-12 said...

To answer the first question, I do not think that Marley deserves the title of "the worst dog." Through all of the mishaps and the chaos that he creats, he brings the family closer together in a way not was not truly appreciated until after the death of Marley. It sort of portrays a theme that people never really realize what they have until it's gone. To answer the second question, I think that to unconditionally love a pet or anything else means to love it no matter what, to love it through both the good and bad times. Intially, I honestly do not think that I could have unconditionally loved Marley; however, through time I do think that my love for him would have grown because I would have seen past his mistakes and realized that he is a vital part of the family.