postmanalwaysringstwice

=The Postman Always Rings Twice.=

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We think it was planned that Frank wanted to get a job in the diner. We think he had noticed Cora before and wanted her so this was just his plan to have Cora. The beginning of the story seems a little suspicious and makes it seem like Frank is hiding something, so he probably was not really waiting for a guy in a Cadillac, but was just saying that for some odd reason.======

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Frank was telling Nick that they should get a new sign for the diner to make it more bright and attract customers. So, Nick goes into town to go get the sign made and leaves Frank and Cora behind. Frank was attracted to Cora from the first time he saw her and he knew from the look on her face and how Nick treated her that she was not happy. Frank knew that if he got Nick to leave for a couple of hours, he could talk to Cora and have her to himself.======

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Cora was working in a Hash House in LA and she took any guy that seemed like he had money because she was desperate. She didn't realize that he wouldn't be a loving husband and that he would make her work so much. Cora is still with Nick because she doesn't know how to get herself out of the relationship.======

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Frank and Cora planned to get rid of Nick while he was taking a bath. They wanted to hit him with a black jack made out of a sugar bag with ball bearings wadded down in the end. After they hit him over the head, Cora would drown Nick in the tub and leave the water running and go out the window using the step ladder. They wanted to make it seem as if Nick had slipped in the tub and been knocked out and then drowned.======

5. What saved Frank & Cora from being caught trying to kill Nick? A cat that was trying to climb up the step ladder got into the fuse box and caused the power to go out. It made it seem as if Nick just slipped in the tub when the power was out and knocked himself out. The policeman saw the dead cat in the fuse box and therefore assumed that it was the cat's fault for Nick's injury and no longer thought that Frank and Cora were possible suspects.

Describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not?
 * Topic of the week: Characters**

Frank Chambers and Nick and Cora Papadakis are the main characters of the book. Nick and Cora are married to each other and work in Twin Oaks Tavern, which Nick owns. Frank Chambers is an adult male who stops by the Tavern and ends up getting a job there. He does not mention anything about where he comes from and seems like he is not saying everything about himself, which makes him very interesting. Cora, Nick's husband seems like she is not living the life she wants to. She works hard, but Nick is very controlling and always tells her what to do. We are drawn to Cora because she did not try to get out of her marriage before Frank came around. But, once she saw Frank, they became attracted to each other and now she wants to try to get away from Nick. We cannot stand Nick because he seems like he is a controlling person. He treats Cora terribly and makes her do all the hard and dirty work for the tavern and never appreciates her dedication to diner. Nick is not loving to Cora and does not care for her like a real husband should and that is why Cora does not want to be with him anymore. He pretends like he is nice to her around people, but Frank realizes that Cora is not happy and how she does not appreciate how she is being treated by her husband. All of the characters are extremely interesting and add an interesting twist to the whole book.

We had to start off the first week of book club with one less partner but that didn't stop us from having an intense discussion. As we discussed the book, we realized it is as if we are reading a script to a soap opera. The married couple, Cora and Nick, are clearly not in love. When Cora meets Frank, they realize that they really want each other. Frank and Cora discover ways to get rid of Nick at the couple's diner and eventually they discover a way to get rid of Nick, for good. We discussed the plan they had for getting rid of Nick. Cora would hit Nick over the head and knock him unconscious. Once he was unconscious, Cora would drown him in the bathtub and leave the water running to make it seem as if he slipped and knocked himself out from the fall. A cat climbing up the fire escape got into the fuse box and cut the power and got electricuted. Cora took Nick to the hospital since she hadn't had the chance to drown him and she didn't want to seem suspicious. Frank and Nora were able to clear their name when the electricuted cat was found and Cora made it seem as if Nick slipped when the power was out.

So far we are enjoying this classic very much. It is a fast pace book with many twists and turns. Although there aren't many pages in this novel, a lot is happening in a short amount of time. This book was a great choice because it is a forbidden love story that includes plenty of drama, which is something we can all enjoy reading about. There hasn't been a point where we've wanted to set the book down so far because there is never a dull page while reading. We can't wait to continue reading because there is sure to be plenty of drama to unfold.

**Week 2: March 8th**
A Aly B Jess C Jenny D Jess

1. Why do you think Cora didn't want to go to the city and run away with Frank? Why did she go back home? Cora didn't want to go to the city with Frank because she didn't want to have to start all over again and find a new job and a place to live with Frank. She had all of that at the diner with Nick and even though she didn't love him like she loved Frank, she knew that she was better off with a roof over her head and a job. If she stayed with Frank, they would be together, but they would be miserable living off of nothing and have to start their whole lives from scratch, so she went back home for herself. 2. Why did Frank leave after? Frank left after because he knew that Cora needed time and felt that if he went back to the diner with her, nothing would get done because Cora didn't want to leave. He thought he should give her time to cool and then realize how much she misses Frank and doesn't want to be with Nick, and then maybe she would come running back to Frank. 3. How did he loose all his money? Frank lost all of his money because he tried to trick a guy into playing pool with him and pretending to be bad at first. Then, Frank started to put money into it and kept raising the price each from $1 to 25. Eventually, Frank lost all of his money because he didn't do as well as he hoped to in pool. 4. Why did Frank tag along to Santa Barba? Frank went to Santa Barba with Cora and Nick because it was another chance for him to see and talk to Cora. Frank couldn't bare to be away from the woman he loved, so after Nick invited him, he accepted. Nick didn't suspect anything going on between the two, and so this could give them a second chance to kill Nick so Frank could have Cora all to himself. 5. What was the next plot to murder Nick? The next plot to murder Nick was on the way to Santa Barba, Cora and Frank supplied Nick with plenty of wine and they were going to crash the car to make it look like they were all in an accident and Nick was the only one who didn't survive. Cora and Nick would make themselves look like they were all cut up and bruised so they didn't seem suspicious.
 * Questions**

Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? This book is very easy to read because it is a face paced novel. The whole book gets right to the point and there is nothing that is dragged on for awhile. It does look like a lower grade level could read it, but the events and descriptions of what happen in the book are for older people, high school age. This book is about love, revenge, and murder so it goes more in depth than people think. Just because there are not a lot of pages does not mean that it is a bad book or too easy for an older person to read. This book is a classic and it is very famous and there was even a movie made about it. The words in this book are simple and there are no huge words that don't make sense in the sentences. Even though there are not many big words and it is a very short book to read, a lot happens in a short period of time so it is hard to read all of that important text at once. Everything important happens all at once so it could just come out of the blue. That is why this book looks easy on the outside to read, but once you start, there is more too it that takes a lot of thinking. This book gets right to the point and the author writes in a way that makes the book a fast and intriguing read.
 * Topic of the week: Language**

Our second book club meeting was extremely successful even without our third member. We discussed about the events that took place in the section fifth of our book and said our opinions of the book so far. We agree that this book is very fast paced in a good way because nothing goes off topic. In this second fifth of the book, Frank and Cora plan to run away together before Nick comes home from the hospital. But, halfway there Cora decides to go back home because she doesn't want to start her life all over again. We think that Cora didn't want to run away because she had a roof over her head and although she loved Frank, she didn't want to live a miserable life with him in the city because they would have no money, no jobs, and no home. We also talked about how Frank runs into Nick and Nick convinces him to go back to the diner and come to Santa Barba with himself and Cora. Frank definitely went to Santa Barba with them so he could talk to Cora and see her again.
 * Summary**

Another big topic that we talked about was Frank and Cora's second plan to kill Nick. They were going to make the car crash on the way to Santa Barba and have Nick be killed with them just having injuries. This shows how much Cora wanted out of her relationship with Nick. We both agree that something about Frank is suspicious because he doesn't reveal everything about himself and it is sort of strange how he falls in love with a woman and convinces her to kill her husband. Cora probably would have never thought of killing her husband if it weren't were Frank. We predicted that something with Frank is going to happen and that something about his past is going to be revealed because he is a mysterious character who definitely has something hiding. We can't wait to find out what is going to happen with the planned car accident and how everything is going to turn out.

**Week 3: March 12th**
A Jenny B Aly C Jess D Aly

1. What happened to Frank after he was trying to get back into the car? Frank was rushing to get back into the car because another car was coming closer and closer so Frank didn't want the driver to see him out of the car. While he was running to the car, he fell and jumped into the car and then fell onto the floor of the car. The car tipped over and went rolling down the grass while Frank was in it. 2. Why did Frank testify that he was driving the car when he was drunk? Frank said that he was driving the car to the judge because the tests were already done that Frank was drunk and he had said to the judge that he was not drinking, so it mad it seem like Frank was too drunk and did not remember. Then, Cora came in and said that she was the one who was driving the car to make Frank look like he did not remember a thing that happened. 3. What do you find out about Frank's past when he was talking to the district attorney? The district attorney found out that Frank had been in jail in many places before he went to the diner. Frank said he went to jail for getting in trouble with cops, getting in fights, and things like that. This made it seem strange because Frank had been in jail in so many different states and had moved from one place to another. Now, he stayed in the diner for a long period of time which gave the attorney reason to think that Frank stayed for Cora and they both murdered Nick. 4. Why did Frank keep denying that he & Cora murdered Nick, even though the judge got the story exactly correct? Frank kept denying that he and Cora murdered Nick because he did not want anyone to know the truth and he obviously didn't want to get caught and go to jail. Frank also wanted to protect Cora because he didn't want her to get caught either so he kept denying it even as the attorney kept grilling him. 5. Why do you think Frank finally signed the complaint against Cora? Frank finally signed the complaint against Cora because the attorney sort of convinced him that if he signed this complaint, then they could investigate Cora and see if she murdered Nick herself. Frank gave up and knew that if he didn't sign this complaint, he would get caught eventually and would either go to jail or have an even worse consequence.
 * Questions**

On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book. What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim? The mood and tone of this book is mysterious and dark. The book is about two people falling in love and trying to murder someone so they can be together. The darkness in the book is Cora and Frank's whole plot to kill Nick because they try once and fail, and try a second time and succeed. The mysterious part of the book is Frank because he is just a guy who comes out of nowhere, gets a job at the diner, and falls in love with Cora and convinces her to murder her husband. In the book, Frank's description of where he came from and his past is very vague until about 3/5 of the book when parts of his past are revealed. Frank was in jail for getting in fights and things like that in so many different states and he has just moved from place to place, never staying in the same area for a long time. But, now suddenly he stays at the diner for a while, which is very mysterious. It is odd how Frank just came into the book and within a short period of time, is coming up with various plans to murder Nick. For example, when Frank was in trial testifying, he knew exactly what to say to make it seem like he was drunk and did not remember anything. He had no hesitation and did not panic at all. Frank seems like he knows what he was doing, and it gives a reason to think that it was not the first time he has done something like this.
 * Topic of the we****ek: Mood/Tone**

We munched on Smartfood popcorn and then got straight to work about talking about our book. We all agreed that this book is very fast paced. It is exciting to read on to each page and only imagine what twists and turns could happen next. Because the topic of this week was mood and tone we talked about the 'color' of the book. We agreed that at first it was a bright color but after each chapter it is fading to a darker color. This is because it is getting scarier. A true love lead to a brutal murder. The part of the book we really focused on was the intense death scene. Many of us had to re-read it to get the full picture because so much went on in very little time. One more thing we talked about is if Frank would go against Cora if they knew they killed Nick. Even though Frank signed the complaint, he wouldn't rat Cora out now when they've been thru so much together. To add, the only reason he signed it was so he wouldn't look suspicious. We are excited to read what happens at court and what the verdict is!
 * Summary**

**Week 4 - March 19th**
A- Jess B- Jenny C- Aly D- Jenny


 * Questions**

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Sackett used the insurance company that Nick had used to try to prove that Cora intentionally murdered Nick. He said that Nick had went to the company after his accident and it said that if he were ever in another accident again and died from it, his widow would receive money. Sackett said that Cora had known about the money the whole time, and she had murdered Nick so she could get the money and live the rest of her life from that.======

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Mr. Katz pleaded Cora guilty because he wanted her to confess everything that actually happened. By him doing this, he thought it would make Cora give up and just tell the truth of what really happened.======

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Cora confessed everything to the typewriter because she had finally given up/ Frank had turned against her and she just couldn't take it anymore. She thought Frank had loved her, but when he went against her during the trial, she realized that she was by herself and there was nothing left for her to do.======

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After Sackett used the insurance companies to prove Cora guilty, Mr. Katz did some research on his own to try to fix this problem. He knew that Cora had no clue that she would get money if Nick was ever in another accident. He used the insurance companies to prove that Cora had nothing to do with it and that proved Cora to be innocent.======

5. Why do you think Cora forgives Frank for turning against her by signing the complaint?
Cora forgives Frank for turning against her because she realizes how much she loves Frank and that she would do anything to be with him. They had gone through so much in order to be together, and now she wasn't going to just let that go and leave Frank forever.

On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning? Love and revenge are the themes used in the book. Love is one of the main themes because it revolves around the whole entire world. Without love, Frank and Cora would have never murdered Nick so they could be together. When Frank and Cora first meet, they instantly realize that they are mean to be together. The author uses love to convey his meaning because it shows that throughout the whole book, love is the one thing that keeps Frank and Cora together. Even after Frank turned against Cora, she finally forgave him because she knew that she couldn't live the rest of her life alone without the man she was always meant to be with. Another theme in the book is revenge. Revenge is a big part of the book because Cora is the one who gets revenge by murdering Nick. Nick never treated Cora the way a husband should treat their wife, and she was sick of never being loved or appreciated, so she got revenge by killing Nick and being with someone who really loves her. Throughout the whole book, love and revenge are the two things that are always depicted.
 * Topic of the week: Themes/Images**


 * Summary

This week we enjoyed goldfish and iced tea and discussed this week's part of the book. We all agreed that this part of the novel is very slow. It mostly discusses law and things of that matter and it was more confusing to read than the previous chapters. We discussed many parts of the case and how Mr. Katz planned to have Cora appear innocent. We also talked about how Cora forgave Frank after he turned against her by signing the complaint. We think she forgave him because she truly loves him and she wouldn't give anything up to be with him. They had been through so much together, like we mentioned a lot throughout our discussions each week, and she wouldn't let it all go because of one thing he did. We are all excited to see what happens at the end of the book and what the final outcome of the case will be. We are enjoying this book, although we agree that this part is more confusing and it takes more time to understand. This section needed more discussion than usual because of how many twists and turns we saw throughout the novel so far. It is a great book and we can't wait to find out how everything unwinds.

****Week 5: March 26th** B. Jess C. Jenny D. Jess
 * A. Aly

Questions: 1. Why did Cora want to stay? Cora wanted to stay because she thought that they could have a good life there. They could make a lot of money rather than starting their life over fresh with nothing at all. She didn't like living on the road. She left the last time because of that too.

2. For what reasons do you think Frank want to leave? He felt weird and guilty staying in the house of the man he killed. He knew the lawyers would eventually come in the end and he didn't want to stay because it would make them look like him and Cora killed Nick just for his money/property.

3. Why did Frank go on the trip with Madge? We think he wanted to escape and see what his life without Cora would be. Clearly there was something he didn't like about it or wanted more so he left.

4. Why did Kennedy go to their restaurant? Kennedy went to the restaurant to blackmail Cora and Frank. We finally realized the confession Cora gave was to this man and Frank and her other lawyers and nothing was said in court to protect them and so that the lawyers would get more money. They came back to the restaurant to blackmail Frank and Cora into giving them money to pay for their confession to not put it in the news. Eventually, Cora and Frank turned it around and attempted to kill them too if they did so.

5. Why do you think Cora and Frank were thinking of killing each other? They went against each other since the court case and they kept doing that. Sometimes, people even like the feeling they get when they kill a person. They get a rush and feel in control. The seemed to enjoy holding the lawyers hostage and threatened them with guns.

6. How did Cora die? Do you think Frank did it? Cora died as her and Frank were in a rush to the hospital driving in their car. There was a truck and Frank tried avoiding it, but ultimately he crashed into a wall and she went through the windshield. Aly believed that he did because he always seemed a little bit crazy. Jenny thought that the story made it seem that way but he didn't because she truly believed he loved her. Finally I states that we had no idea about anything about his past and he was seemed really sneaky. He might have even went to the resturaunt for that reason and looked at her as his "prey" or his whole plan.

7. What's your view on subconsciousness? We understand the concept we just don't understand how it could go so far. We can see your subconscious get in the way if you say something out loud or write something all by mistake, but we believe that it's strange if it would go all the way to murder. Cora and Frank both knew killing people was wrong, but they had this uncontrollable feeling and impulse to do so.

Topic of the week:** **Responding to the Text**** On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Would you recommend it to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum?

After reading __The Postman Always Rings Twice,__ we all agree that the overall book was suspenseful and fast-paced. We all did enjoy the book because nothing was dragged on for too long and everything got right to the point. The book was a bit confusing at times with the whole trial part, but other than that everything was clear. We all would recommend this book to peers because it is a good read about love, revenge, and murder, which makes for a very interesting and intriguing book. Many people do not like books that go on and on about random things,and this book definitely does not do this. This is a very suspenseful book and the characters have all different types of personalities that make the book even better. The whole murder scandal and the descriptions provide perfect imagery for the reader, which makes them want to keep reading. We do not think this book should be considered for the school's curriculum because we think it's more of a free read and not so much a book to read for school. This book was something that we all normally do not read and it allowed us read a different type of book. Reading something out of our comfort zone made us realize that we should start to read all different types of books from now on.

Summary: Our last book club meeting started off with the delicious cupcakes made by Aly. We then began discussing the final fifth of the book and what we thought of the surprising ending. We talked about Cora and Frank's life after the trial and how Frank wanted to leave and Cora wanted to stay at the restaurant. We all think that Frank wanted to leave because he didn't like being in the house of the person he killed and he also made it seem like he knew that Kennedy was going to come and ask him for money. Cora wanted to stay because she didn't want to start her life over with absolutely nothing and things were going well at the restaurant, so there was no point in leaving. We all agreed that parts of this last fifth were a little confusing, especially the part when Kennedy comes to the restaurant and blackmails Cora and Frank. This led to Cora and Frank turning against each other and thinking of ways to kill each other. We all agree that the relationship between Frank and Cora is off and on, but they always keep coming back to one another.

During our meeting, a big part of our discussion was of the extremely surprising ending of the book. Cora and Frank made up after once again turning on each other and decided to get married because Cora was pregnant. They then went to the beach after and all of a sudden Cora said that she had a weird feeling and Frank rushed her into the car. In an instant, Cora was dead from Frank crashing the car into a wall on the highway. The last chapter of the book talks about what happened to Frank after Cora died. There was another trial for Cora's death where they found out that Frank really did kill Nick and he was waiting for his sentence. We all think that Frank subconsciously killed Cora because he seems like a sneaky character and we all think that he has killed a lot of people before, so he wasn't even thinking when he killed Cora. We all thought the book was fast paced with a lot of twists and although it was confusing at times, the book always left us with a lot of surprises.

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