Outside Reading #5

In the novel, "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer there is no end to the struggles Bella and Edward must face to be together even during it's final pages. Near the end, James, a vampire who enjoys the hunt, is chasing Bella, thirsting for her blood. The Cullens do everything in their power to keep the girl safe, even seperating the two lovers and flying to Pheonix. Of course, this seperation is extremely difficult for the couple, but necessary, "He set me down, still holding my face, his glorious eyes burning into mine. His eyes went blank, curiously dead, as he turned away," (Meyer 403). Edward loses a part of himself when he leaves Bella, but he must leave her to kill James to protect Bella. Poor Edward is torn, but he understands why he and Bella must seperate, and so he leaves her. Despite their efforts, James succeeds in black mailing Bella into coming straight to him; If she doesn't come he'll kill her mother. So Bella has no choice, and follows the vampire's instructions exactly so as not to alert the Cullens. In the end, James bites Bella, and she is left to writhe in agony and become a vampire (if she doesn't die first), with no one to help her. But then the Cullens suddenly arrive, Emmett and Edward kill James, and then Edward makes a dangerous decision; he decides to suck out the poison from James's bite, but that involves drinking Bella's blood, and if he losses control, he could accidentally kill the girl he loves, "I watched his eyes as the doubt was suddenly replaced with a blazing determination...Then his head bent over it, and his cold lips pressed against my skin...Then slowly my writhing calmed as my hand grew more and more numb," (Meyer 455-6). Edward loved Bella so much, and wanted to take away her pain so badly, that he sucked out the venom and calmed Bella, without losing control at all.

This book is slightly similar to, "The 400 Blows." Both Antoine and Bella rebel against their families and friends. But, the two are different because when Antoine rebels against his family and friends he tends to get punished; there are negative side-effects. For example, when he steals the typewriter to sell and get some extra money, he's caught and thrown in jail. But when Bella rebels against her friends and family there are usually positive effects. For example, when Bella doesn't tell her father that she's going hiking one afternoon with Edward, the couple finally define their relationship and express their feelings for one another. This leads to the couple falling in love and being happy.