The Last Picture Show

Symbols

2009-12-10T18:41:00.000-08:00

There are many symbols present in The Last Picture Show.

Sonny's football jacket: His heart. It was all he cared about getting back after his break up with Charlene. It meant alot to him, like his heart does.

"He was amazed that breaking up with her had been so easy: all he felt was a strong sense of relief at having his football jacket back... He was proud of it, and glad to have it safely out of Charlene's hands." (27)

Joe Bob: Disappointment. Everyone was disappointed in Joe Bob when he allegedly raped that little girl. He was always the poster-child, but once he got in trouble, everyone lost respect for him.

"Something totally unexpected happened to Jacy, and it was led up to by an event so startling that everyone in Thalia almost went mad with surprise. Joe Bob Blanton was arrested for rape!" (207).

The Picture Show: Past and memories. In the end of the book, the picture show closes down. It symbolizes the future, and the things to come. After the picture show closes down, Sonny realizes many things. "He turned around and drove back past the sign, but stopped again. From the road the town looked raw, scraped by the wind, as empty as the country. It didn't look like the town it had been when he was in high school, in the days of Sam the Lion." (277). Once the picture show was gone, Sonny realized that the town was not all that he remembered. He knew that it was time for him to leave, and move somewhere new.

Sam the Lion: Heart of the town. The glue. Holds the town together. Sam the Lion is the fatherly figure for Duane and Sonny. They grew up not having one, and Sam is the closest thing they have to a father. He keeps the boy in line, keeps them out of trouble. Once he dies, the boys do not know what to do. They instantly miss him terribly, and the town slowly falls apart. It gets dirty, rugged, and the picture show closes down. Without him there, the town is not the same.

"He had not thought of Sam the Lion much since the funeral-in Thalia it was no good thinking about him-but for some reason the bitter flats of the Pecos brought him to mind and Sonny remembered the way he used to slop aroundthe poolhall in his house shoes, complaining about the ingrown toenail that had pained him for years." (180). Once Sam died, Sonny realized how much he missed him and how much he had done for him.

Genevieve: Love. Mom. Family. She is everything to Sonny- she keeps his family, or all that is left of it together but not together. She is always at the diner when the boys need someone to talk to, and when they run low on money, she is always first to donate. She loves the boys of Thalia like they were her own, and she is their motherly figure, for they grew up not having one. "She went in the cafe and got a ten dollar bill out of her purse. Afer she had wiped her eyes with a Kleenex she took the money outside and handed it to Sonny." (164).

Thalia: Haven. Home. Comfort. Shelter. The boys have resided in Thalia all of their lives, and do not know anything outside of it. So when Duane and Sonny leave Thalia to go take a trip to Mexico, everything goes wrong. They spend all of their money on prostitutes, on pornographic movies, and alcohol. Outside of Thalia, it is an unknown world, and the boys do not know how to deal with it. Within their haven they are safe, but when they leave, they are succeptable to wrongness.

Favorite Moments

2009-12-10T15:14:00.001-08:00

I just finished The Last Picture Show and overall I thought that it was a very good book. Despite the weird, and sometimes awkward events, this book was very interesting. I really liked the surprises, and adventures that this book brings.

This book contains a little bit of everything- there is a little something that everyone would enjoy. There is romance, a roadtrip to Mexico, a bar fight, a love affair, and the feeling of loneliness. It is full of basically anything that you can imagine.

One of my favorite parts of the book was when McMurtry was describing the young life of Sam the Lion. When Sam the Lion goes into description of that moment on the cliff, he is truly happy. The happiest he has been since he was young. "He sat by the water laughing, running his hands through his hair. Tears began to run down his face so freely that Sonny was not sure what was happening, whether Sam was laughing or crying." (152). He then goes on to describe what he did that day, the day he brought the young lady swimming, always speaking very highly of her. It seems as if he is in awe, like she is the one that got away. I feel like Sam the Lion really misses that woman, and it kills him everyday to have her living in his town. We later find out that the secret woman is Lois Farrow, and she was the one to give him his nickname.

"It's been right at fifty years since the first time I watered a horse at this tank. Reason I always drag you all out here probably- I'm just as sentimental as anybody else when it comes to old times. What you reminded me of happened twenty years ago- I brought a young lady swimming here. It was after my boys were already dead, my wife had lost her mind. Me and this young lady were pretty crazy, I guess. She had all the spirit in the world, and we had some times." (153). Sam was always finding a way to get back out on the cliffs to go back in his memories and remember the times he had with Lois Farrow.

My other favorite part of the novel is when Sonny and Duane have a bar fight. This occurs when Duane returns to town, and him and go to the bar. The boys are fighting over Jacy, and who she "rightfully belongs to."

Sonny says, "I haven't screwed here, but she ain't your girl anymore, anyway. Hell, you don't even live here anymore."

Then Duane says, "She's my girl and I don't care if we did break up. I'm gonna ger her back, I'm tellin' you right now." (233-234)

So Duane believes that she is rightfully his because he had her first-like a toy. Then, the boys start to fight and Duane hits Sonny in the eye with a beer bottle. Sonny almost goes blind. I really like this scene because of the irony of the situation. What brought them apart is now bringing them together in the end. Jacy is the reason that Duane left town, leaving Sonny all by himself. But then, once Duane hits Sonny with the beer bottle, he immediately feels remorse. He forgets all about Jacy and how he had "stolen his girl." He immediately begins to apologize to Sonny for hitting him with the bottle, and he becomes really nervous about his eye.

"Duane was really worried, and it made him so nervous and stiff that Sonny was almost glad when he left." (236). This really shows the strong bond between them. Duane felt sick to his stomach that he had hurt Sonny badly and had put his vision in danger. Sonny had already forgiven Duane, and even though he had almost lost his vision, he did not really want Duane to leave his side.

UniversalThemes

2009-12-07T19:18:00.000-08:00

Another theme in American Literature today is coming of age. In The Last Picture Show, the characters that Larry McMurtry all become mature and wiser throughout the book. They all begin to realize what matters.

A theme in the book, also commonly seen in American literature, is the loss of innocence. In the beginning of the book, Sonny is a pure, innocent boy. He loves to hang out with his best friend Duane, and his somewhat girlfriend Charlene. But throughout the book, Sonny conveys the theme of loss of innocence. It all begins when he meets Ruth Popper. From the beginning, he knows that there are feelings between them, and that they are inappropriate and should be stopped- but he pursues them.

"When Sonny kissed Mrs. Popper outside theLegion Hall it seemed to him that a whole spectrum of delicious experience lay suddenly within his grasp. No kisses had ever been so exciting and so full of promise, neither for him nor for Ruth." (115). Sonny knows it is wrong and that Ruth is vulnerable and fragile, he still leads her on and pursues her. Sonny has an affair with a married woman, and when he decides to continue it, despite the absense of feelings for ruth, he becomes a grown man, not an innocent child.

Joe Bob is another example of a character that lost his innocence. Joe Bob was training to become a minister, and devoted all of his time to God, and to preaching God's word. "Joe Bob was sort of religion crazy, but nobody could blame him for it, considering the family he had. He was even a preacher himself, already; the summer before he had gone to church camp and got the call." (36). Everyone thought that Joe Bob was destined to be a preacher, but he proved everyone otherwise. One night, Joe Bob molested a little girl.

"'Sheriff, Johnny Clarg's little girl has kinda been kidnapped," he said. 'They seen the preacher's boy putting her in his car about an hour and a half ago, in front of the drugstore.'...'Miz Clarg's afraid Joe Bob might be goin' to mo-lest her or something.'" (212).

Joe Bob went from being a perfect, innocent, poster-child to being a hated, unwanted, guilty man.

Another theme present in the book is the pursuit of love and happiness. This theme can also be seen in many other American novels. -Follow your heart, pursue what you want- Throughout the book, everyone is looking to be loved, wanted, or just to be happy. Sonny just wants to be loved, mainly by Jacy, but he takes what he can get. "So far as he was concerned Jacy and Duane knew true love and would surely manage to get married and be happy. What depressed him was that it had just become clear to him that Charlene really wanted to go with Duane, just as he himself really wanted to go with Jacy." (21) He looks for love with three people: Charlene, Ruth, and Jacy. He doesn't find true love with any of them.

Ruth is just looking for happiness, and to be appreciated. She wants someone to love her, to have sex with her, and to just appreciate her. She does not find that in her husband, Coach Popper, but in Sonny. "He tolerated the chocolate and the clothes mending, but Ruth knew very well that what they did on the quilt was what he really liked, what he enjoyed doing with her. It thrilled her that that, of all things, would be what made a person want to come and see her. She expected, almost from day to day, that he would tire of her, and when she saw him coming in the door wanting that same thing of her, she was always happy for a moment." (126) This quote is talking about how, even though Ruth knew that Sonny was only in their relationship for the sex, she was okay with that. She liked the feeling of being wanted, and did not care how she got that.

Jacy is looking to be wanted as well. Throughout the book, she moves on from boy to boy. She gets with each boy because she can tell he wants her, and that is all she wants. It begins with Duane, but when she meets Bobby Sheen, all she can think about is him. Then her life becomes controlled by her need to be wanted by Bobby. "It seemed to her she had come off vvery badly with Bobby. He didn't call her for any daes afterward, and every other boy who had ever been near her had promptly called her for dates. The only conclusino possible wwas that Bobby found her backward and country. It was clear that she was going to have to get rid of her virginity." (138). After she met Bobby, she couldn't get him off her mind. She was even willing to lose her virginity to be loved by him. And then, when that failed, she moved onto Sonny. She even convinced him to marry her, just to make other boys jealous of what they couldn't have. She supports the theme of love and the need to be wanted.

Rhetoric Study

2009-12-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

"Sonny looked at her curiously and she smiled at him, and honest, attractive smile, as she kept stroking the back of his neck lightly. He drank more bourbon and watched the intermittent lightning yellow the plains. He felt as thought life was completely beyond him.

In a little while they crossed Red River, the slap of their tires echoing off the old stone bridge abutments. The water in the channel was shallow and silvery.

"Anyhow, I know why Sam the Lion liked you," Sonny said, and it was Lois' turn to be startled.

"Sam?" she said. "Who told you he liked me? Genevieve?"

Sonny nodded. Lois was silent for a moment. "No, it was more than that," she said. "He loved me, honey."

They were silent almost to Burkburnett, but Sonny noticed that Lois kepy wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands."

"I get sad when I think about Sam for long," she said in explanation, her voice unsteady. "I can still remember his hands, you see. Did you know he had beautiful hands?" (252).

This passage is a perfect showing of Larry McMurtry's style of writing. The main portion of his book is dialogue between the characters. This keeps the reader interested in the story, and makes it much easier to read. McMurtry uses short, choppy sentences when he is writing what people are thinking and speaking. This helps keep the reader enthralled in the story, in addition to the dialogue.

In this specific passage, and all throughout the book, he describes the setting constantly. But he does it in the perfect, small amount, that is enough for the reader to understand what it looks like, but not enough to bore the reader. In this he describes the lightning and how it makes the plains look. This imagery is not too descriptive, but just enough to get the point across.

He also uses alliteration in some parts of the book.

"The water in the channel was shallow and silvery."

This helps to get a point across, to convey a feeling of slipperyness, like a snake.

Characters

2009-12-04T15:32:00.000-08:00

Sonny Crawford

Sonny is the main character in the book. It is frequently given from his point of view. His best friend is Duane Jackson, and his girlfriend (for a little while) is Charlene. In the book, Sonny is a bland character, with not much going on. He takes a big risk when he begins to have a secret affair with his basketball coach's wife, Ruth, and when he runs away to marry Jacy. But other than those few spur of the moments, Sonny is a very bland character. He represents the average Joe, the one that always follows the rules, until he is corrupted.

Duane Jackson

Duane is the best friend of Sonny, and is dates (on and off) Jacy. Duane is "a tall boy with curly black hair... he held himself a little stiffly." (9) He loves Jacy, and their relationship is great until she leaves him at the prom to go to a pool party in Wichita Falls with Lester. Even after they break up and he leaves the city, Duane is determined to get back together with Jacy. His feelings for Jacy really show when he finds out that her and Sonny have been talking and hanging out. "Duane couldn't take that. He came out of his chair and slammed Sonny in the face with the beer bottle he had in his hand. It knocked Sonny backward." (235) This entire fight began because Duane and Sonny were arguing about Jacy and whos girl she was. This shows how protective he was of her, and how much in love he was.

Sam the Lion

Sam is the owner of the town's poolhall and restaurant. He is beloved and respected by all in the town. He cares for all the boys in the town like they were his own. He had three sons before, but they all died, and it took Sam a while to get over it. "He began to come out of it when he bought the picture show, or so people said... Then Sam bought the poolhall and the all-night-care and he perked up more and more." (4) The city of Thalia really helped get him through the tough times of his life. He was well respected, loved, and a favorite of everyone in the town before his death. He was also in love with Lois Farrow when he was younger and free.

Jacy Farrow

Jacy is the daughter of Lois Farrow, the mysterious woman from Sam the Lion's teenage years. Jacy dated Duane on and off until she goes to a pool party in Wichita Falls and it changes her forever. Later, she dates (and tries to marry) Sonny, just to make her parents mad. She constantly talks about how beautiful she is, and is used to getting by with her good looks. She is willing to do whatever it takes to become one of the Wichita Falls people, and to be with Bobby Sheen. "Jacy had begun to be very attracted to Bobby Sheen, the leader of the wild set. He was not especially handsome, but he combed his hair in a rakish fashion and he was always merry and lustful." (136) Jacy goes after what she wants, and always tries to get what she can't have. She's full of drive, perseverance, and she is very reliant on her looks.

Ruth Popper

Ruth is the wife of Coach Popper, and the secret lover of Sonny. She and Sonny have an affair that continues throughout the entire book, and abruptly ends in the end. She is very fragile at heart, and becomes very jealous when Sonny looks at other girls-even though he is not tied to her in any way. Their affair is supposed to be secret, but everyone in the town knows about it. Throughout the book, she just wants to be loved, appreciated, wanted. That's why she lets the affair get as out of hand as it does. "And when she saw him oming in the dorr wanting that same thing of her, she was always happy for a moment." (126). His wanting kept Ruth alive and happy.

Image Study Bibliography

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http://photos.signonsandiego.com/albums/northcounty/KC_fireTUESDAY231.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1140/1148794705_6d03fca1d4.jpg

http://comp.webstockpro.com/uppercut-rf/adp01016.jpg

http://unifiedmilwaukee2.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/pickup-basketball.jpg

Image Study

2009-11-23T19:52:00.000-08:00

Everytime they mention the diner, I picture something exactly like this. It's a small town diner, with stools at the counter, and a tiled floor. The diner is a local hangout in Thalia. Duane and Sonny go there frequently. They love the food, the owner (Sam the lion), and the waitress, Genevieve. It's where Sonny goes to talk about his love life, his problems, and his future.

This truck reminds me of the one described in the novel. It's the car that gets him and Duane to Mexico, the one that he drives around everywhere. "Sonny's pickup was a '41 Chevrolet, not at its best on cold mornings. In front of the picture showit coughed out and had to be choked for a while but then it started again and jerked its way to the red light, blowing out spumes of white exhaust that the wind whipped away." (1) The way it is described in the book makes it seem like an old truck that can barely run. One that is covered in rust, aged by wind and rain.

The boys all play basetball on the school's team. This is where they frequently make fun of Joe Bob, run sprints until they puke, and where they are hassled by the team's coach, Mr. Popper. The game is not very important to them, for they lose almost every game they play in. What really matters to them is the rides to and from the games- those are what makes them legends. Especially Duane. "Might as well look on the bright side. Let's go to the bus." (73) The bus is what gets them through their loss, and what makes the game so much fun. This picture really captivates me- and it is what I picture when I read of Duane and Sonny playing basketball. I picture them playing in a happy atmosphere, with friends, and just having a good time.

This picture is what I initially thought of when McMurtry mentioned a pool party. I imagined innocent fun, pictures, and food. But that is not at all what McMurtry went on to describe. Jacy went to the naked pool party with Lester. Jacy was initiated into their "club" by removing all her clothes and jumping off the diving board. This moment in her life showed how she was willing to do anything to become a part of the wealthy group again. She completely ditched her boyfriend Duane to go to the party with Lester so that she could become a legend in her town. It really shows how self-absorbed she is and what is really important to her. Now, when I think of pool parties, I think that I will imagine them a little differently- and not in a good way.

Personal Response- Weird Events.

2009-11-23T17:54:00.000-08:00

At this point, I have read about two thirds of The Last Picture Show, and I am intrigued by the story. There has not been much of a plot this far, though. The story mainly consists of three main things: Descriptions of the physical level between couples, Sonny and his new pal Ruth, and weird occurences that would never happen in real life.

McMurtry goes into great detail when describing what the couples do in their spare time. He spends too much time describing how intimate they get, and the situation constantly appears in his writing. He puts a lot of emphasis on it- it's like he wants the reader to feel like they're there, in the midst of things. "After the proper amount of kissing Sonny deftly unhooked her bra. This was the signal for Charlene to draw her arms from the sleeves of her sweater and slip out of the straps. Sonny hung the bra on the rear-view mirror. So long as the proprieties were being observed, Charlene liked being felt; she obligingly slipped her sweater up around her neck." (21) But McMurtry doesn't stop there- he keeps going. He puts so much emphasis on this that it makes it awkward. It is one of those books that I feel awkward reading in public because I feel that people will know what I am reading and will judge me. Sometimes, he just goes too far. Although it sometimes gets a little awkward, it makes it an easy read, so I am not complaining.

McMurtry also puts alot of emphasis on the relationship between Sonny, Ruth Popper, and his coach, Mr. Popper. He tells many stories about the guys' experiences with Coach Popper. But he frequently talks about Sonny and Ruth together, which I guess kind of ties in with what I just talked about before. He finds a way to talk about how Ruth cheats on her husband with Sonny in almost every chapter. I know there is a reason he emphasizes their relationship, I just have yet to figure it out. Hopefully I'll find out soon.

"Ruth got her dress off, but when she bent to pull the slip over her head one of the straps caught on a bobby pin-for an awkward moment she could not get the slip loose. Her face was hidden in the silk. Sonny moved to help her, but just as he did she tore it loose and looked up at him with a wry smile, as if to comment on her awkwardness." (117)

Events in this book are very weird, awkward, and downright inappropriate. (This contains adult material- beware.) There are two parts in this book that I need to talk about. One involves a large party that consists of skinny dipping, and a creepy younger brother. The other involves bestiality. When I first read about the naked pool party, I was shocked. McMurtry described a party in a pool where no clothes were required. "'That's my little brother Sandy' Bobby Sheen said. 'Don't pay any attention to him-he's not in the club. He just likes to swim under water with his mask on and look at girls" (94) This quote sums up the attitudes of the people that Jacy wants to hang around. They don't care about anyone but themselves. I don't know why Jacy would want to hang around them anyway.

Another strange event that I felt extremely awkward reading was when all of the boys went down to a farm to have sex with a blind cow. I have never felt more uncomfortable reading a book than I did the moment I read this. They grew up thinking that this was normal. "The farm kids did it with cows, mares, sheep, dogs, and whatever else they could catch. (103.) McMurtry makes this sound completely normal for the town of Thalia- I could not be more thankful that I did not live in Thalia during that time period The other strange aspect of this was that the boys stood around and watched people rape the cow, like it was no big deal. This story will scar me for the rest of my life.

But other than the weird events, this book is pretty good. It is fascinating to see what a small Texan city was like back in the day. It is intriguing because it allows the reader to get into the character's heads, and to see what a small Texan town was like back in the day.

Quotations

2009-11-23T17:39:00.000-08:00

I will share with you some of my favorite quotes from this novel so far.

"Who you love is your own pretty self and what you really love is knowing you're pretty." (46)

This is said by Lois Farrow to her daughter, Jacy. At this moment, Lois is telling Jacy that she doesn't really love Duane, and that she only loves herself and how he makes her feel pretty. Lois says that the only reason Jacy is "in love" with Duane is because he tells her she is beautiful all the time. This quote really shows how naiive many of the people back then were- all they cared about was money and looks. I believe that this shows how all women picked their mates back in the day- they picked the one that would become the wealthiest. Later, Lois goes on to describe how she scared her husband into becoming rich and how now "he's done nothing but run around trying to find things to please me. He's never found the right things but he made a million dollars looking." Money runs her relationship and she's trying to make it run her daughters. I just hope that Jacy does not leave Duane for Lester, who has much more money. We'll see.

"It took a rich, fast crowd to go swimming naked, and Jacy always prided herself on belonging to the fastest crowd there was, moral or immoral. Indeed, for a rich, pretty girl like herself the most immoral thing imaginable would be to belong to a slow crowd. That would be wasting opportunities, and nothing was more immoral than waste." (83)

This is being thought by Jacy when she is contemplating whether or not to go to the party with Lester and ditch Duane. I like this quote because she is being very ironic. She says that it would be immoral to waste opportunities, but the real immoral thing was going to a naked party. She never once thinks about the improperness of the party, and she is constantly thinking of how it would put her in the fastest crowd there was. She only cares about being in the greatest, most "popular" crowd around. Jacy does not take into consideration how her boyfriend would react, or how it would hurt him, and I think that says alot about her character and her personality. She clearly does not have morals, for if she did she would not go to that party- that's why this quote is ridiculous and ironic.

"Loneliness is like ice. After you've been lonely long enough you don't even realize you're cold, but you are. It's like I was a refrigerator that had never been defrosted at all-never. All these years the ice has just been getting thicker. You can't melt all that ice in a few days, I don't care how good a man you are... I don't know, maybe at the center of me there's some ice that never will melt, maybe it's just been there too long. But you mustn't worry. You didn't put it there." (126)

This is said by Ruth to Sonny after she realizes that he is hesitant to make love to her again. I really like this quote because of the weird comparison that she uses. I don't think that many people would think to compare loneliness to ice in a refrigerator- and that is why it is so strong and memorable. Like ice in a refrigerator, her loneliness kept building up, until there was a thick wall of it. And she did not expect him (Sonny) to get rid of that ice all in one day, but maybe over the course of time, it would eventually defrost and make her able to love again. I love this metaphor because she is showing sadness and loneliness through it, but at the same time she is reassuring Sonny that he had nothing to do with it and that there is still hope for him and her.

Relationships between the characters.

2009-11-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

In the first few chapters, the reader gains a look into the relationship between many of the characters- Sonny and Charlene, Jacy and Duane, and even the boys and Billy.

Sonny and Charlene:

Both of the characters do not feel much attraction for the other, and it is apparent that Sonny would much rather be with Jacy, the beau of his best friend, Duane.

"Occasionally the two couples double-dated, but that was really harder on Sonny than no date at all. With all four of them squeezed up in the cab of the pickup it was impossible for him to ignore the fact that Jacy was several times as desirable as Charlene. Even if it was totally dark, her perfume smelled better. For days after such a date Sonny had very disloyal fantasies involving himself and Jacy." (Page 12).

I believe Sonny has a want- maybe even as extreme as a need for Jacy, and as if he only stays with Charlene to get closer to Jacy. Charlene also has greater feelings for someone other than Sonny. She always has Duane on her mind. When she gives Sonny pictures of herself, even he can tell that she had the intention of impressing Duane.

That shows the extent of their relationship. They stayed together to exchange physical contact, but nothing more than that- there were no emotional aspects of their relationship. Sonny and Charlene keep this relationship going for a year, but at that point, neither of them can keep it together any longer. Sonny becomes sick of their routine relationship, and can't take it anymore. The only thing that either of them care about, however, are the objects that they had given eachother. Sonny only cares about his football jacket- "He was amazed that breaking up with herhad been so easy: all he felt was a strong sense of relief at having his football jacket back (27.)" That jacket meant more to him than his yearlong relationship, and afterwards, he did not feel remorse for his newly ended relationship, but only happiness that the jacket was now in his hands. And Charlene only cared that the pictures that she had given Sonny were back in her hands. "And you can give me back my pictures. I don't want you showin' 'em to a lot of other boys and tellin' them how hot I am." (23)Everyone knew that Charlene wasn't the "hottest" in the town, but I think that she was saying that to make him upset over losing her- even if she didn't really care about his feelings toward her. She later goes to say that she could have happily stabbed Sonny with an ice pick, and no one that has actual feelings for someone would not want to cheerfully stab their partner. Their relationship was clearly not real, and only to be used to try and get with someone else.

I feel that this relationship is a good representation of alot of relationships out there- many are just in it for the physical aspects, and to make someone else jealous.

Duane and Jacy

Duane and Jacy have a very intimate relationship. They spend every Saturday night together, usually at the Picture Show, where they engaged in physical activity. "Jacy and Duane kept right on kissing, even when the movie ended and the lights came on. They didn't break their clinch until Billy came down from the balcony with his broom, and began to sweep." (20) This shows how enthralled they were with eachother- they didn't even know what was going on around them. They are too in love to realize what is in their surroundings.

Jacy's mom does not want her to be with Duane either. He is from a poor family, and according to her parents, "in about two months he'd quit flattering you and you wouldn't be rich anymore and life wouldn't be near as much fun for you as it is right now." (46) To Jacy's family, money is key, so I am interested as to see what comes of their relationship. Personally, I think that Jacy will give in to her parents, and leave Duane. Money is too important to her, and with Duane being poor, I believe she will give up on him and move on to some other rich boy.

Setting/ About the Author

2009-11-20T20:06:00.000-08:00

I began reading The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry. I have heard nothing but good things about it, and I wanted to read it for myself. The reviews I have read are all positive, full of praise, and state that it is a classic, and a great "coming of age novel."

Larry McMurtry grew up in Archer City, Texas, a small, rural town. Archer city is the model for the town of Thalia, which is present in many of his works, including The Last Picture Show. "There was only one car parked on the courthouse square-the night watchman's old white Nash. A cold norther was singing in off the plains, swirling long ribbons of dust down Main Street, the only street in Thalia with businesses on it. " (1) The town is described as eerily empty, abandoned. "Sometimes Sonny felt like he was the only human creature in the town." (1) This makes you feel the despair and loneliness of Thalia, and even of the people in it. These descriptions help the reader get a feel for the small Western town that the novel is set in. There is only one street that has businesses on it, and the rest of the town is housing or empty. It is the typical "Small town USA" setting, and makes me picture tumbleweeds, and desert climate.

Larry McMurtry also wrote many other books, a few of which were sequels to The Last Picture Show. This book recieved so much praise that it was eventually turned into a movie. The movie version of The Last Picture Showrecieved much praise, and I will probably watch it when I am finished reading the book. He also wrote and produced Brokeback Mountain, which is one of his most famous works.

Larry McMurtry is a great writer, and I already enjoy his work- after reading just a portion of the book. I am looking forward to the rest of it, and will continue to post about my reading.

Setting/ About the Author

2009-11-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

I began reading The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry. I have heard nothing but good things about it, and I wanted to read it for myself. The reviews I have read are all positive, full of praise, and state that it is a classic, and a great "coming of age novel."

Larry McMurtry also wrote many other books, a few of which were sequels to The Last Picture Show. This book recieved so much praise that it was eventually turned into a movie. The movie version of The Last Picture Show recieved much praise, and I will probably watch it when I am finished reading the book. He also wrote and produced Brokeback Mountain, which is one of his most famous works.

Larry McMurtry is a great writer, and I already enjoy his work- after reading just a portion of the book. I am looking forward to the rest of it, and will continue to post about my reading.

About the Author

2009-11-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

Larry McMurtry is a great writer, and I already enjoy his work- after reading just a portion of the book. I am looking forward to the rest of it, and will continue to post about my reading.