Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Enduring Love


Enduring Love by Ian McEwan is a story beginning on an ordinary Spring day at the park. Joe Rose, a science writer and his girlfriend Clarissa are enjoying a picnic when they spot a disaster. They see a hot air balloon with a child in the basket, and a man being dragged behind it. Several onlookers try to band together in order to stop the runaway balloon, but in the scuffle a man is killed. Another attempted rescuer, Jed Parry shares a look with Joe. Little does Joe know, that this chance meeting is the beginning of an obsession that will attempt to tear apart his life. Later on in the book, Jed begins to appear in random situations in Joe's life. Joe witnesses a man being shot in shoulder and comes to the conclusion that the bullet was meant for him. However, the police do not believe that Jed is the one who orchestrated the hit. Jed's obsession with Joe goes a step farther when he begins to mess with his relationship with Clarissa. Joe receives a call from Jed who is at Clarissa's home. Luckily, he had gone to buy a gun for protection against his stalker. Will Joe be able to rescue his girlfriend and stop the crazy Jed in time?
1 would you be one of the witnesses of the escaped balloon that would join in the rescue attempt?
2 if you came home to a psycho holding a knife to your significant other's throat, how would you try to diffuse the situation? and if you had a gun, would you be able to use it?

32 comments:

Kristen R. 11-12 said...

To answer the first question, I do think that I would be one of the witnesses of the escaped balloon that would join the rescue attempt because I don't think that I could simply stand by watching people struggle. I am the type of person that likes to get involved and enjoys helping people, so it would be an automatic reaction to help someone in need. To answer the second question, I would try to diffuse the situation by staying calm, as hard as that would be, and by trying to distract the person holding the knife. I would ask the person holding the knife if there was something that he or she needed that I could help with. Also, if worst came to worst, I would start rambling random facts about my significant other because I heard that is what one is supposed to do in a life threatening situation. If I had a gun I am not sure if I would be able to pull the trigger; however, in the heat of the moment, my adrenaline would kick in, and I might be able to use it to protect my significant other.

Kali D. 13-14 said...

2. If i came home to a psycho holding a knife to my significant others throat, i would try and do anything to save them. I would be willing to do anything for the psycho just to let my other go. Hopefully he would come to terms with himself and see what he was doing was wrong. Im not sure if i had a gun if i would be brave enough to use it but in that moment to save my others life i probably would.

Bojana Duric said...

2. I would try to meet any demand of the psycho. I would ask what he or she wanted and in situations like money, give it to him or her. If I had a gun, I probably would use it. However, I would be terrified to think that if I missed I would hurt my loved one. I would probabaly try and hit the pyscho's foot to distract him and make him let go of my loved one.

Kaitlyn H 11-12 said...

2) Obviously, if a person's life that is important to you is in danger you're going to try to diffuse the situation. If using a gun was the only way to save this person, I'd rather have the thought on my conscience that I had murdered someone rather than knowing I didn't do everything I could to save my significant other.

allie s 11-12 said...

If i came home to a psycho holding a knife to someone i loved, i would at first be surprised, then i would try anything in my power to stop him. I would see if he wanted something, or if i could do anything. i would try to diffuse the situation and maybe get the creep to realize what he is doing is bad. And if i had a gun, i don't think i could use it, my aim is not that good, and i wouldn't want to shoot my significant other. But if i was able to shoot a gun, i mean i could be good, i would use it and shoot the guy :)

Leah A 5-6 said...

2. If I came home to see someone threatening my significant other's life, I would try my best to stop it. I would probably try to talk to the guy and try to get him to realize what he is doing is bad. I don't think I personally would be able to shoot the guy because first, I don't believe I would be able to physically shoot a gun. I would be in too much of a shock and afraid to shoot my significant other.

Kristen T. 11-12 said...

If I were in the situation explained in question 1, I would most definitely help out. My first instinct would not be to sit and watch others struggle. I would do whatever I could to help out the person in danger.

To answer number 2, I would likely try to cooperate with the stalker. It's likely that this person has some type of mental illness and anything that is said or done could easily throw him off and put him into a stressful situation where he may act in a violent manner. I would try to talk to him calmly, acting as though I'm not afraid of him, but still treating him like he is in charge so that he doesn't panic and do something irrational. If I felt that he was about to harm my significant other, then yes I would use the gun to stop him in order to protect the one I love.

Brad S 11-12 said...

2. If i came home to that situation, i would calmly address him and his concerns. I would try to get in his head and make him fight his own mind. If there is doubt in ones' head, then they most likely will have many thoughts running through their head and lose focus of what their intentions were. If one can manipulate others' minds, then great things may be achieved. Although, if that did not work, i would then try to make him back down by showing no emotions, then shoot him with the gun.

Hayley D said...

1. I would definitely be one of the witnesses attempting to help rescue the people from the hot air balloon. I wouldn't be able to just sit there and watch, I would do whatever I could to get those people to safety.
2. I don't know what I would do if I came home to that. I would try my best to distract the psycho and I would also do whatever it took to secretly call for more help. If it came down to using the gun...I don't know if I could actually pull the trigger. I think if I did use it, I would shoot it so that it wouldn't permanently injure him (like in the foot like Bojana said). Hopefully that would buy enough time to save your loved one's life.

Vanessa D. 13-14 said...

2.) Yes, I would try to diffuse the situation. I'm not exactly sure what I would do to distract the psycho I would probably just make it up as I go, which could be good or bad considering they could kill my significant other at any time. If I had a gun I would shoot the psycho in the leg so he would be disabled and I would be able to get my significant other and get out safely.

Joe K. 11-12 said...

If I came home to a significant others being held at knife point I'd do all I could to negotiate with the criminal. I would offer anything including myself to trade the individual for my other. I would not use my gun because I would be worried I'D miss. I am not a very good shot and missing could result in hitting my loved one or provoking the criminal to murder her.

Hannah L 13-14 said...

2. I think taht if I came home I would try to do whatever I could to convince the killer not to kill my significant other, but I don't know if I would be able to use the gun. I'm not a violent person but I think if it got to the point of losing them then I would probably use the gun and try to protect them but I think it would greatly affect the rest of my life.

Mike B 13-14 said...

If i came home to a psycho holding a knife to my sinificant other i would do all i could to negotiate with the killer to prevent him from killing my significant other. I would offer any possessions i had and would do all i could to prevent violence. If it came down to my wifes life i would have to use violence to protect her and if that means using a gun i would do it. Usually i would have a hrd time pulling the trigger killing another human but if my wifes life was on the line i would have no choice.

Courtney R 5-6 said...

1) I'm not sure if I would be one to help in a rescue attempt; it all depends on the situation. I would not want to try and help if there were already a bunch of people trying to help because I may just get in the way. If I can be helpful in the situation I would definitely help.

2) This also depends on the situation. If I was lucky enough to not be seen, I would sneak back out of the house and call the police. If not, I would try my best to try and talk to the person threatening my significant other. I don't think I'd be able to use the gun. I would fear hitting the wrong person or fear the criminal putting my significant other in more danger. This would be a very difficult situation overall.

LibbyS5/6 said...

1) Yeah, I would probably try to help, especially if a lot of other people were helping, because if I was just standing there while everyone else was actually doing something, I would kind of feel like a jerk.

2) I'm not exactly sure how I would try to diffuse the situation. I'm not really one to stay calm in a stressful situation, so I'd probably shriek and talk in a hysterically high voice. Hopefully whatever I said would be so hard to understand that the killer would be distracted (by trying to decipher what I said) and then I could use my gun to take him down.

Betsy C 1314 said...

I agree with Libby, that I would feel like I should involve myself. But, I don't know how much I would be able to do to save the people.

I also agree with Courtney, that I would do everything that I could to diffuse the situation.

Kyle P. 13-14 said...

1. If I thought I would be of help trying to keep the balloon on the ground I would help otherwise I would probably just call 911.

Betsy C 1314 said...

I agree with Kyle, that calling for help might be the better option. I would have to assess the situation to see where I could be the best help.

David G. 13-14 said...

2. I would try to think what the psycho wanted from me so that I could try to negotiate out of the situation before I resorted to the violent way out. If it came down to the violent side of things though I think I would take the chance and attempt to shoot the psycho if it came down to it.

Jacob B 11-12 said...

First, I believe that i would help in the rescue effort. I dont think i would be able to not help a person in need. Also, if i were to come home to a psycho holding a knife to my significant other i would know that i have to stay calm and possibly try to talk to the madman into putting the knife down. if i had a gun i believe i would be able to pull the trigger.

KatherineS13-14 said...

1) I would most definately be one of the people helping to get the balloon under control. I would do anything I could in order to help make the people safe.

Unknown said...

1. Yes, although it doesn't sound like they would have been much help.
2. I would pull out a gun and shoot him or call the police from my cell phone in a way the psycho wouldn't see and hope they could triangulate the call without my having to talk to them and bring attn to the fact that I called.

Cieran B. 5-6 said...

2.If i came home to a psycho holding a knife to my significant other i would first try not to do anything that would make the psycho harm her. Then I would calmly try and talk him out of what he could do and make him reflect on what would happen. If all else failed and I had a gun then I would take the chance of shooting him regardless of the conseqences for at that point someone would have been hurt.

Kara K. 5/6 said...

1. I would join in the rescue attempt and do what I could to help them
2. I have no clue how I would diffuse the situation. I would do everything possible to stop the person from killing my husband. I would not want to get to the point of using a gun. I could never see myself even having to use a gun. If I did, I would shoot the person somewhere that would not kill them. I would try to figure out a solution to the problem before I would try anything else.

McKenzieM 11-12 said...

1. I think I would try and be apart of the rescue attempt.
2. If I came home to that I would do anything to save my significant other but of course I would try anything else before using the gun.

Emily C. 13-14 said...

I know it would be something very difficult to shoot someone and i would have a very hard time to do it, but in the situation where i had to or I or someone else would be killed, i think i would be able to do it

Allie H 11-12 said...

Regarding question number 1, I would definitely join in the rescue attempt to try and stop the escaped balloon. Not only would it be horrifying witnessing the scene with a man being dragged by an air-ballon, but it would also be devestating to see a child trapped inside of it. He would have no idea how to stop it, and the child would also be in shock from seeing the parent being dragged by it. The child may not know what to do. That is why I would at least try and help the people from their death.

Jacci L. 11-12 said...

To answer question 1, yes I would join in the rescue attempt simply to try and save someone's life. I couldn't just sit there and watch a young child float away with a man being dragged. If I were either of those people, I would want to be saved as well. It's also the kind and brave thing to do. Just something I would want to do to help someone out. I would feel terrible if I was a witness there and didn't do anything and the child and man had died. I'd feel guilty.

Greg P. 13-14 said...

2) If someone who I care about is in danger, I would use whatever tools necessary to make sure they do not get hurt.

Rachael B MOds 5-6 said...

2. If I came home and someone was holding a knife to the throat of the person that I adore most in my life, I am not exactly sure what I would do. My initial reaction would either be to go into a panic or to help them, but I don't think either of these would get me very far and could probably end up in the death of my loved one.

I think if I was able to rationalize a little and think in the moment as best as I could, I would probably throw my hands up so that they could see that I am not trying to threaten them. Following, I would ask if there is anything specific that they have come for, and I honestly would give them whatever they ask for. It could be devastating, but I would rather lose everything I've ever made and earned than lose the person I've spent a lifetime builiding my heart and love around.

JessieW 11-12 said...

1) I honestly don't know what i would do if I witnessed the escaped balloon. I probably would want to help, but have no idea how to. Most likely I would help by getting out of the way of the people who actually know how to help. Or, if people knew how to help, I would listen to them and help them with their plan.

Mrs. Sherwood said...

Thread closed