Melissa is a minor character in the book, but her being included in the storyline provides some important developments. Comment on her role in the book. What purpose does the inclusion of her character serve?
Melissa may be observed as a "minor character" but I believe that she actually plays a bigger roll in this book than portrayed. Sure, she doesn't happen to be the main character but she's Chances best friend, only friend rather. At the beginning Chance didn't really mind having her around but as the year progressed you could kind of see the friendship-type bond between them strengthen. Once Miller showed his face, in the start of the senior year he broke Chance's routine of staying in the back of the class and zoning out by upsetting Melissa and Chance choosing to defending her the first time, thus sparking the friendship. You can see that she's a reporter at heart, being persistent by asking Chance to join the newspaper multiple times and investigating his position once she noticed how he was acting; taking photos of the people involved with the smuggling operation then solving the puzzle with the pieces she created. The Melissa-Chance relationship was a fire being fed and diminished by the things they did, just like any other relationship. Starting on that first day up to the day he left for the army and, most likely, after that too. If they wouldn't have had the friendship that they did, Chance wouldn't have been able to get the help he needed as fast as he got it in order to try to help his dad or see his dad save all those people on the Norwegian Sky, his last moments on the Tiny Dancer. For a minor character, I feel that Melissa has done a lot for the book.
I find that as the question itself states Melissa is a minor character who has a glorified role. She is Chance's only friend and really the only reason they are friends in the first place is because Miller wasn't being exactly the nicest person. I sense a sort of progression in their friendship though. At first Chance accepts her but seems to not really want to actually befriend her. Then it seems they slowly develope a personal relationship but once Chance starts running this relationship becomes strained and distant. Just before Chance begins running though it seems that they are almost on the verge of becoming more than friends. It is actually somewhat sad to see that opportunity lost to Chance because of the Running. It also seems that she is somewhat of a gateway to her father because if he had not befriended her he might never have known that his father was friends with Melissa's father and he may not have been aptly defended in the events following the explosion of the Tiny Dancer.
Melissa was a very interesting character in the book. She provided some support for Chance, but she never got so into his business that he backed off from her. She did a nice job of letting him know that she was there, but she wouldn’t be offended if he didn’t want her involved. In the end, I’m glad she was there for Chance. If Melissa hadn’t been there to give Chance someone to talk to, he may have made other decisions that would have turned out even worse. I think Melissa also allowed Chance to grow up a little. By forcing the issue onto Chance, she made him realize that he wasn’t a little boy anymore. He was working with the real deal. I could also sense a teeny bit of romance between them, but in the end it was sort of obvious that that wasn’t going to happen. Chance took her seriously, and in the end he really respected her for her support, knowledge, and reporting skills. Melissa’s father was also important, and without Melissa, her father may have never been able to connect with Chance and his father to save Seattle. If Melissa hadn’t been who she was and had the courage to talk to Chance, the whole story would have changed. Melissa had a minor part in to book, but she made an enormous impact.
Melissa may have been a minor character in the book, but without her Chance would most likely be in jail right now. Melissa is for the most part, Chances only friend. The only reason they became friends in the first place, was because of Miller. If it wasn't for Chance sticking up for Melissa, I don't think they would have ever truly become friends. I believe if Melissa didn't pressure Chance into joining the school newspaper, their friendship wouldn't have continued. You could tell that Melissa really cared for Chance. I'm pretty sure that if someone found out their friend was involved in smuggling drugs into Seattle, they wouldn't be their friend for much longer. But, Melissa stood by Chance as a friend and helped him get out of the business. Chance also cared for Melissa. Once Melissa found out about his job, Chance stopped hanging out with her because he feared that the people he worked with would want to hurt her. Towards the middle of the book, it seemed as though they were going to become more then friends. Chance's life was completely changed because of Melissa and her family. Once Chance's home and father blew up, the family provided Chance with a home. Her father kept Chance from a life in jail, by convincing the FBI that he was a pawn in the situation. They even offered him a chance to go to college and pay his tuition. But, in the end, Chance decided to enlist in the army.
In the book, Melissa is a very intelligent girl with many opinions, and she’s also a huge reason why Chance didn’t end up in a worse position than he already was in. When Chance stood up for Melissa, I think she admired his bravery and that he cared about what she had to say. After that, Melissa tried to befriend Chance when no one else would. Melissa was a really good friend to Chance. You could tell that Melissa really cared for Chance, because even though he really didn’t have many friends to begin with, he lived on a crummy boat, and his dad was a drunk, she still talked to him. I don’t think many people would have taken to him, but Melissa did. She was really concerned with his safety with his running job when she found out about it, but she also respected his wishes and left him alone when he asked her to. Clearly Chance cared about her just as much. The inclusion of Melissa ended up saving many peoples lives. Without her and her father, many people may have died due to the bomb on the Tiny Dancer. Chance wouldn’t have gotten the help as fast as he did to help the people and try to help his dad if he didn’t know Melissa. I can tell Melissa got her friendliness from her family. Her father offered to help Chance and his father financially, and in the end helped Chance in a much bigger way. Melissa’s parents were also kind enough to take Chance in when he had no where else to go. It’s obvious that even though Melissa wasn’t the main character in the story, she had a big impact on it.
Melissa may have been a minor character in Runner but I think that she may have been the most important. Melissa brought Chance out of his theoretical s”shell” in the beginning of the book. Since the day Brent Miller came to class, Chance and Melissa’s relationship blossomed. She was there through Chance’s new “job” and even when his father was killed in the end. Melissa’s role in the book was to bring Chance out of his shell, be a friend to someone in need, and also make him realize that his new job was wrong. Several times she tells Chance that her and her father would be happy to help with anything. At the end they really prove it, by offering him a place to live and a family that he never really had. By her investigating skills, and her curiosity, she finds out what Chance was blindly helping people do. She found out how the mysterious packages were being delivered. This discovery, helps Chance quit his job. He knew what he was doing, but now that he knew how the packages got there, he didn’t want anything else to do with it. Also, I personally think that Melissa may have help Chance figure out what his goal, or future was in life. By arguing with the Principle about the Army setup at career day, she inadvertently helped Chance figure it out. After Chance intervened with the argument, a recruiter slipped him a brochure. So, Melissa may have had a bigger role in this story than the reader may believe.
Chance was just a poor kid trying to get through high school so he could move on with his life. He took whatever classes they gave him and spent his time in the back row staring out the window doing just enough work to pass his classes. Melissa was a smart rich girl in one of his classes. Melissa didn't really care what other people thought of her. She liked to debate topics in class and was part of a newspaper team she created. Melissa and Chance truly became friends when Melissa dug herself into a hole talking to Miller, the guy from the army, and Chance stood up for her. The two started hanging out at her newspaper meetings and started to grow closer to each other. Chance was poor and when his dad lost his job he couldn't pass up a job from the fat guy. Chance became a “Runner” in a drug smuggling operation. Melissa was curious about what Chance was doing so she found out about his job. When she found out, Chance told her to back off and she respected his wishes. Melissa was there for him enough to give him a reason to quit his job and make something out of his life. Unfortunately she was a little late. In the end Melissa and her father were there for Chance and his father. They quickly took care of the problem and stopped a major terrorist attack from killing a lot of people. If Melissa wasn't there for Chance the boat may have killed 1000's of people. Melissa being included in the story as a minor character made the book more interesting. During the story I was always wondering if Melissa was going to tell the cops about Chance or if she was going to help him. Her inclusion in the story gave the story more fear and intensity.
I didn't really like Melissa being included. She seemed kind of annoying because she was always getting into Chance's business. I think if she was less annoying she could have been a much better friend to Chance than she was. She did add somewhat of a worry when she had become a little too involved. It made her seem as though she could have been killed for knowing too much, or even kidnapped, so they could force Chance to blow something up in order to save her, but she was kept out of it until the end. I think the main reason she was included in the story was so that her father could have been used in the ending to help Chance get out of the mess he was in without any worse consequences. Without her inclusion Chance would've ended up in a much worse situation then he is now. It would have changed the ending a little, but I still think that Chance's father would have died in the end still.
I agree with Doulas. Melissa can be called a minor character, but she most definitely is not. She plays such a big role in Chance's life. Ever since she offered to help Chance and his dad you could tell she really cared about Chance and his well being. I liked Melissa from the beginning of the story. She came across as brave to me especially when she spoke up to Brent Miller. Even though she didn't really get along with everyone she made a lot of good points. You could see that everything started to go uphill for Chance when Melissa mentioned that his dad and her dad were best friends in high school. I knew from the beginning that Melissa would soon take an interest in Chance. It's really good that Chance had someone supporting through whatever. Melissa knew he was involved in a smuggling operation, but never turned him in because she knew he needed the money. When Chance went to Melissa's dad with his problem and nobody turned him in, they tried to help him. If it wasn't for Melissa,Chance would have been on that boat the night the Tiny Dancer exploded and took his father's life.
Even though Melissa is a minor character in "Runner" I think she served a big role. She helped Chance a lot with everything he was dealing with. Although Chance didn't tell her much about the smuggling at first. Once Melissa figured out what Chance was doing she talked to him about it and helped him. Also, after the Tiny Dancer blew up, Melissa and her parents let Chance stay with them. If they hadn't have let him stay with them I don't think he would have had anywhere to go. When Melissa was talking to Miller and arguing with him, Chance stuck up for her and spoke up so Miller wouldn't be mean to Melissa anymore. Melissa was very helpful to Chance. She helped Chance and his dad when they were going to get food at the food bank, she gave them a ride to their boat. When Chance needed help from Melissa's dad, Melissa was very understanding and she talked to her dad about Chance's problems. If Melissa wasn't in Chance's life, his dad wouldn't have asked Chance to go talk to Mr. Watts. The reason being is because Chance's dad would have known that Chance doesn't know Mr. Watts. Melissa was a good friend to Chance and I think she would have continued to be even though the book ended!
Even though Melissa is said to be a minor character in the book, I think she has a much larger role. Melissa grows to become Chance's only friend. She worries about him when he seems in trouble. Chance does get himself in trouble, and pushes Melissa away to keep her safe from harm. I think that when Chance stopped going to the newspape, Melissa was sad and disappointed. She seemed to be Chance's only friend, but Chance also seemed to be Melissa's only friend also. By Cha de pushing Melissa away, she lost that friend. Which made her suspicious and curious. Then Melissa starts snooping in Chance's business and figures out he's in trouble which even though Chance finds bad, it actually works out for him. Melissa helps Chance and makes sure he's safe and well. Melissa and her family do more than just help him out, they make sure he doesn't go to jail, houses him, feeds him, and offer to pay for college. Without Melissa and her family, Chance would be in jail or dead and never had known what he had gotten himself into. All of this is Melissa's inclusion in the story and her main role, being a friend.
Doug really seems to have nailed the response--notice the way he anticipates the reader's response and doesn't leave any loose threads, so to speak. He also sticks closely to the topic with specific details after having presented a general truth about the plot. Nice work, Doug!
One more BLOG post is due--and we will see one another in person in just a few, short weeks.
I purposely gave you some easy reading for the summer; I hope you have been enjoying the literature for the entertainment value! I will be anxious to hear what other great books you were able to get lost in over the past couple of months.
13 comments:
Melissa may be observed as a "minor character" but I believe that she actually plays a bigger roll in this book than portrayed. Sure, she doesn't happen to be the main character but she's Chances best friend, only friend rather. At the beginning Chance didn't really mind having her around but as the year progressed you could kind of see the friendship-type bond between them strengthen. Once Miller showed his face, in the start of the senior year he broke Chance's routine of staying in the back of the class and zoning out by upsetting Melissa and Chance choosing to defending her the first time, thus sparking the friendship.
You can see that she's a reporter at heart, being persistent by asking Chance to join the newspaper multiple times and investigating his position once she noticed how he was acting; taking photos of the people involved with the smuggling operation then solving the puzzle with the pieces she created. The Melissa-Chance relationship was a fire being fed and diminished by the things they did, just like any other relationship. Starting on that first day up to the day he left for the army and, most likely, after that too. If they wouldn't have had the friendship that they did, Chance wouldn't have been able to get the help he needed as fast as he got it in order to try to help his dad or see his dad save all those people on the Norwegian Sky, his last moments on the Tiny Dancer.
For a minor character, I feel that Melissa has done a lot for the book.
I find that as the question itself states Melissa is a minor character who has a glorified role. She is Chance's only friend and really the only reason they are friends in the first place is because Miller wasn't being exactly the nicest person. I sense a sort of progression in their friendship though. At first Chance accepts her but seems to not really want to actually befriend her. Then it seems they slowly develope a personal relationship but once Chance starts running this relationship becomes strained and distant. Just before Chance begins running though it seems that they are almost on the verge of becoming more than friends. It is actually somewhat sad to see that opportunity lost to Chance because of the Running. It also seems that she is somewhat of a gateway to her father because if he had not befriended her he might never have known that his father was friends with Melissa's father and he may not have been aptly defended in the events following the explosion of the Tiny Dancer.
Melissa was a very interesting character in the book. She provided some support for Chance, but she never got so into his business that he backed off from her. She did a nice job of letting him know that she was there, but she wouldn’t be offended if he didn’t want her involved. In the end, I’m glad she was there for Chance. If Melissa hadn’t been there to give Chance someone to talk to, he may have made other decisions that would have turned out even worse.
I think Melissa also allowed Chance to grow up a little. By forcing the issue onto Chance, she made him realize that he wasn’t a little boy anymore. He was working with the real deal. I could also sense a teeny bit of romance between them, but in the end it was sort of obvious that that wasn’t going to happen. Chance took her seriously, and in the end he really respected her for her support, knowledge, and reporting skills.
Melissa’s father was also important, and without Melissa, her father may have never been able to connect with Chance and his father to save Seattle. If Melissa hadn’t been who she was and had the courage to talk to Chance, the whole story would have changed. Melissa had a minor part in to book, but she made an enormous impact.
Melissa may have been a minor character in the book, but without her Chance would most likely be in jail right now. Melissa is for the most part, Chances only friend. The only reason they became friends in the first place, was because of Miller. If it wasn't for Chance sticking up for Melissa, I don't think they would have ever truly become friends. I believe if Melissa didn't pressure Chance into joining the school newspaper, their friendship wouldn't have continued. You could tell that Melissa really cared for Chance. I'm pretty sure that if someone found out their friend was involved in smuggling drugs into Seattle, they wouldn't be their friend for much longer. But, Melissa stood by Chance as a friend and helped him get out of the business. Chance also cared for Melissa. Once Melissa found out about his job, Chance stopped hanging out with her because he feared that the people he worked with would want to hurt her. Towards the middle of the book, it seemed as though they were going to become more then friends.
Chance's life was completely changed because of Melissa and her family. Once Chance's home and father blew up, the family provided Chance with a home. Her father kept Chance from a life in jail, by convincing the FBI that he was a pawn in the situation. They even offered him a chance to go to college and pay his tuition. But, in the end, Chance decided to enlist in the army.
In the book, Melissa is a very intelligent girl with many opinions, and she’s also a huge reason why Chance didn’t end up in a worse position than he already was in. When Chance stood up for Melissa, I think she admired his bravery and that he cared about what she had to say. After that, Melissa tried to befriend Chance when no one else would.
Melissa was a really good friend to Chance. You could tell that Melissa really cared for Chance, because even though he really didn’t have many friends to begin with, he lived on a crummy boat, and his dad was a drunk, she still talked to him. I don’t think many people would have taken to him, but Melissa did. She was really concerned with his safety with his running job when she found out about it, but she also respected his wishes and left him alone when he asked her to. Clearly Chance cared about her just as much.
The inclusion of Melissa ended up saving many peoples lives. Without her and her father, many people may have died due to the bomb on the Tiny Dancer. Chance wouldn’t have gotten the help as fast as he did to help the people and try to help his dad if he didn’t know Melissa. I can tell Melissa got her friendliness from her family. Her father offered to help Chance and his father financially, and in the end helped Chance in a much bigger way. Melissa’s parents were also kind enough to take Chance in when he had no where else to go. It’s obvious that even though Melissa wasn’t the main character in the story, she had a big impact on it.
Melissa may have been a minor character in Runner but I think that she may have been the most important. Melissa brought Chance out of his theoretical s”shell” in the beginning of the book. Since the day Brent Miller came to class, Chance and Melissa’s relationship blossomed. She was there through Chance’s new “job” and even when his father was killed in the end.
Melissa’s role in the book was to bring Chance out of his shell, be a friend to someone in need, and also make him realize that his new job was wrong. Several times she tells Chance that her and her father would be happy to help with anything. At the end they really prove it, by offering him a place to live and a family that he never really had.
By her investigating skills, and her curiosity, she finds out what Chance was blindly helping people do. She found out how the mysterious packages were being delivered. This discovery, helps Chance quit his job. He knew what he was doing, but now that he knew how the packages got there, he didn’t want anything else to do with it.
Also, I personally think that Melissa may have help Chance figure out what his goal, or future was in life. By arguing with the Principle about the Army setup at career day, she inadvertently helped Chance figure it out. After Chance intervened with the argument, a recruiter slipped him a brochure. So, Melissa may have had a bigger role in this story than the reader may believe.
Chance was just a poor kid trying to get through high school so he could move on with his life. He took whatever classes they gave him and spent his time in the back row staring out the window doing just enough work to pass his classes. Melissa was a smart rich girl in one of his classes. Melissa didn't really care what other people thought of her. She liked to debate topics in class and was part of a newspaper team she created. Melissa and Chance truly became friends when Melissa dug herself into a hole talking to Miller, the guy from the army, and Chance stood up for her. The two started hanging out at her newspaper meetings and started to grow closer to each other.
Chance was poor and when his dad lost his job he couldn't pass up a job from the fat guy. Chance became a “Runner” in a drug smuggling operation. Melissa was curious about what Chance was doing so she found out about his job. When she found out, Chance told her to back off and she respected his wishes. Melissa was there for him enough to give him a reason to quit his job and make something out of his life. Unfortunately she was a little late. In the end Melissa and her father were there for Chance and his father. They quickly took care of the problem and stopped a major terrorist attack from killing a lot of people. If Melissa wasn't there for Chance the boat may have killed 1000's of people. Melissa being included in the story as a minor character made the book more interesting. During the story I was always wondering if Melissa was going to tell the cops about Chance or if she was going to help him. Her inclusion in the story gave the story more fear and intensity.
I didn't really like Melissa being included. She seemed kind of annoying because she was always getting into Chance's business. I think if she was less annoying she could have been a much better friend to Chance than she was.
She did add somewhat of a worry when she had become a little too involved. It made her seem as though she could have been killed for knowing too much, or even kidnapped, so they could force Chance to blow something up in order to save her, but she was kept out of it until the end. I think the main reason she was included in the story was so that her father could have been used in the ending to help Chance get out of the mess he was in without any worse consequences. Without her inclusion Chance would've ended up in a much worse situation then he is now. It would have changed the ending a little, but I still think that Chance's father would have died in the end still.
I agree with Doulas. Melissa can be called a minor character, but she most definitely is not. She plays such a big role in Chance's life. Ever since she offered to help Chance and his dad you could tell she really cared about Chance and his well being. I liked Melissa from the beginning of the story. She came across as brave to me especially when she spoke up to Brent Miller. Even though she didn't really get along with everyone she made a lot of good points.
You could see that everything started to go uphill for Chance when Melissa mentioned that his dad and her dad were best friends in high school. I knew from the beginning that Melissa would soon take an interest in Chance. It's really good that Chance had someone supporting through whatever. Melissa knew he was involved in a smuggling operation, but never turned him in because she knew he needed the money. When Chance went to Melissa's dad with his problem and nobody turned him in, they tried to help him. If it wasn't for Melissa,Chance would have been on that boat the night the Tiny Dancer exploded and took his father's life.
Even though Melissa is a minor character in "Runner" I think she served a big role. She helped Chance a lot with everything he was dealing with. Although Chance didn't tell her much about the smuggling at first. Once Melissa figured out what Chance was doing she talked to him about it and helped him. Also, after the Tiny Dancer blew up, Melissa and her parents let Chance stay with them. If they hadn't have let him stay with them I don't think he would have had anywhere to go. When Melissa was talking to Miller and arguing with him, Chance stuck up for her and spoke up so Miller wouldn't be mean to Melissa anymore. Melissa was very helpful to Chance. She helped Chance and his dad when they were going to get food at the food bank, she gave them a ride to their boat. When Chance needed help from Melissa's dad, Melissa was very understanding and she talked to her dad about Chance's problems. If Melissa wasn't in Chance's life, his dad wouldn't have asked Chance to go talk to Mr. Watts. The reason being is because Chance's dad would have known that Chance doesn't know Mr. Watts. Melissa was a good friend to Chance and I think she would have continued to be even though the book ended!
Even though Melissa is said to be a minor character in the book, I think she has a much larger role. Melissa grows to become Chance's only friend. She worries about him when he seems in trouble. Chance does get himself in trouble, and pushes Melissa away to keep her safe from harm. I think that when Chance stopped going to the newspape, Melissa was sad and disappointed. She seemed to be Chance's only friend, but Chance also seemed to be Melissa's only friend also. By Cha de pushing Melissa away, she lost that friend. Which made her suspicious and curious. Then Melissa starts snooping in Chance's business and figures out he's in trouble which even though Chance finds bad, it actually works out for him. Melissa helps Chance and makes sure he's safe and well. Melissa and her family do more than just help him out, they make sure he doesn't go to jail, houses him, feeds him, and offer to pay for college. Without Melissa and her family, Chance would be in jail or dead and never had known what he had gotten himself into. All of this is Melissa's inclusion in the story and her main role, being a friend.
Good effort to all on these BLOG posts!
Doug really seems to have nailed the response--notice the way he anticipates the reader's response and doesn't leave any loose threads, so to speak. He also sticks closely to the topic with specific details after having presented a general truth about the plot. Nice work, Doug!
One more BLOG post is due--and we will see one another in person in just a few, short weeks.
I purposely gave you some easy reading for the summer; I hope you have been enjoying the literature for the entertainment value! I will be anxious to hear what other great books you were able to get lost in over the past couple of months.
Keep the effort high on this last post...
:) Mrs. A.
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