1) Johnny Gunther was a normal high school student. He loved science, especially chemistry and physics. Straight A student with friends and a great personality. Then, at age 17 the unthinkable happens; he is diagnosed with a brain tumor. It all started with simple headaches and fatigue and of course nothing was thought of it only to find out that it is a brain tumor. Why Johnny though? He was a good, friendly, intelligent, hard working boy? He suffered through multiple surgeries and many harmful x-rays, yet he never lost hope. He always said he would make it out alive and he just had a positive attitude about life, even though he chances of survival were slim. This young boy would of had an amazing life, he would of gone to Harvard and would of done wonderful things in the Scientific field, but sadly his life was cut short by a terrible illness.
2)I believe the author chose to write about this because it was a hardship that was overcome. The life of a amazing bright young man was lost and that was hard for everyone who knew him, especially the parents. Although he went through so much suffering it has a positive message; Johnny always stayed strong and had a positive mindset not only for himself but also for those who loved him. He knew he was going to die eventually, so he spent his last few months enjoying what he had and the time he had left with his family and loved ones.
3) To be completely honest, I don't know why I chose this book. Once i actually started reading it I realized that it wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. What made me keep reading it was just to be motivated; Johnny had a terribly illness and yet he had such a positive outlook on life, why? Having cancer would of been a reason for people to get depressed and knowing they would of died within a few months most people would of just gave up on life. Yet, this 17 year old with so much potential and such a bright future did the complete opposite of that and I find that inspiring.
4) The one aspect that wasn't realistic to me was that knowing he was going to die, Johnny wasn't even sad. He was so young ! If i were to be in his position i would just be depressed and i would just want things to end. Yes, its inspiring that he was so positive and so grateful for what he did have. But he could of lived for so much longer and he could of done great things and all that was cut short. Not only did he suffer by being in pain all the time but his family and loved ones suffered a great loss and if i would of been in his position, I would of been pissed of at the world. Other than that the book was pretty realistic because they talked about the procedures he had to go through and the sacrifices he had to make just to live a few months longer.
People
1) I feel like the purpose of this book was to inspire people. Somethings just happen and we have no control over them so we must as well just accept it and make the best of what we have left. Most of the interpretations in this book were based on what he saw and the suffering that he saw his son endure.Yes, there are some parts when Johnny's thoughts are coming directly from him but other than that it was descriptions of his procedures and the new doctors or equipment that they were being worked with.
3) John Gunther- He is the proud father of Johnny. He was a writer and thats what he did for a living. He was strong through the story even though he had to watch his son die slowly and suffer everyday. Him and his Johnny's mother were separated and yet they managed to remain friends for Johnny's sake. No matter how bad things got John was always there for his son
Johnny- Intelligent, selfless, caring, friendly- those are just a few words that were used to describe Johnny. As I have mentioned, I admire this kid because he took a bad situation and focused on the good and the positive. He was selfless, always thinking of others before himself. he worried about the well being of others, even though he was the one dying. He was funny and just loved life and wanted to succeed at everything he tried.
4) Nothing about the authors description of the character changes besides the description of his physical being. Johnny had a brain tumor and after under going so much surgery and x-rays he was going to get weak and things like that. Yet he always focused on how Johnny was such a positive and grateful human being. He survived longer than what the Doctors predicted and I believe that the fact that he was so grateful and positive played a role in that.
5) The Author is always changing his attitude and thoughts, how could he not? His son is dying. there are times when he had hope that the doctors had removed most of the tumor if not all of it. But realistically he knew that that wasn't the situation. Also, he seemed very proud of Johnny, he was an intelligent boy its hard not to be proud of him but through that you know that he is suffering. He is losing his only son, he sees Johnny suffer everyday and can do nothing about it so obviously there was sadness there. Yet, he managed to stay strong not only for himself but of johnny and his mother and in a situation like this, I give him props for keeping himself collected through such a hard and painful situation.
Style
1) I noticed that there was foreshadowing involved. I predicted that Johnny actually did die because the author referred to Johnny is past tense so that is what gave me the clue that he died. Other than that his style of writing was journalistic because he just stated things as they were happening . He talked a lot about what procedures Johnny was undergoing and how he would react to those procedures. Aldo, he talked about all the different Doctors they had to visit and all the hospital trips that were made.
2) The Author definitely uses lengthy descriptions. A lot of descriptions were mad when they would talk about the procedures and Johnny's reaction to those procedures. I think that it was a good technique
because most of the the readers wouldn't of know what was going on otherwise. I personally didn't understand a lot of things that were said because they were medical terms but the fact that he described what the procedure was and what the hoped result was actually helped a lot.
3) I believe that the fact that the author focused on Johnny's attitude through all this helped set up the mood. It made me realize that bad things happen, but it could be way worse and that I should be grateful for the important things in my life such as my family and my health. I felt that although it was a sad story it was also inspiring. Almost like Morrie from Tuesdays With Morrie, his situation was terrible yet he focused on the positive and good things that he had in his life.
4) I think the author was trying to help us realize that we should be grateful. Yes, things get bad at times but most the time it isn't something tragic like Johnny's situation. It really makes me think twice about complaining about little things that I want. Im sure that Johnny's loved ones would give anything to have Johnny back but obviously that isn't going to happen. so we really should be grateful for what and who we have in our lives because reality is it can be taken from us at any moment.
5) The author uses letters that were written by Johnny and doctors notes that were written about Johnny's illness. That didn't really matter to me because I had my mind set that this id was inspiring and that as someone who has the basics to survive ( food,shelter, and health) i need to be more grateful because there are good people out there who are dying and are more grateful than I am.
Enduring Memory
What i got out of this was just like what I said in my last literary analysis; enjoy life and be thankful because it can all be taken away from you at any moment. Stop focusing on the materialistic things and be glad that you have your health, food, and a roof over your head. because while we are sitting here crying because they can't get the newest electronic there are people out there dying from starvation and suffering from things that no one should suffer from.
Bonus questions
Johnny's father realized that he needed to be more like Johnny and appreciate life more. like most of us, Johnny's father took life for granted and we shouldn't do that; life is a gift and it can be taken away from us at any given moment. He also realized that he had no control over Johnny's disease, everything happens for a reason. He feels that Johnny having a tumor was a mistake but he realized that even if it was he has no control over what happens in the end.
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