Sunday, November 15, 2009

Which Cover?

I feel the fourth cover, the one with Ben looking out the window with a sad expression, fits this story the best. I feel it best expresses how Ben is feeling throughout the entire story. He is different from everyone else "...like a goblin or a dwarf or something..." (Lessing 56). Ben is trapt inside himself. He tries so hard to act normal and get along with his family, but his body just won't let him. He didn't kill Mr. McGregor on purpose, it was an involuntary action. Most of the things Ben does are not the things that Ben really wants to persue, they are actions that Ben sees others do and when trying to mirror their actions, his brain interprets their actions in a negative way. When Ben strangled Mr. McGregor, it was merely Ben's brain interpreting another family member's hug with the dog into them strangling it. It is impossible for Ben to escape himself. This cover expresses the emotions Ben is feeling. Harriet basically trapt him inside of their house and he is extremely eager to escape and explore the outside world like a normal being.

By reading the title of this novel, you can expect something different is going to happen to the Lovatt's fifth child. This cover foreshadows what to expect in the novel and portrays what Ben is feeling. He is incapable of escaping himself, let alone his house, and this cover expresses Ben's character the best.