What is TWILIGHT?
♥ Twilight is a series of four vampire-based fantasy/romance
novels by author Stephenie Meyer.
♥ It follows the adventures of Isabella ("Bella") Swan, a
teenager who moves to Forks, Washington, and finds her
life turned upside-down when she falls in love with a
vampire named Edward Cullen.
♥ Twilight is the first in the series. The following books are
New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.
♥ The series is told from Bella's point of view, with the
epilogue of Eclipse and a portion of Breaking Dawn being
told from the viewpoint of Jacob Black.
♥ Stephenie Meyer is working on the next novel, Midnight
Sun, which will be the plotline of the first book, but told
from Edward Cullen’s point of view.
♥ The first book of the Twilight saga
♥ It introduces 17-year-old Bella, who
moves from Phoenix, AZ, to Forks,
WA, and ends up falling in love with a
vampire.
♥ The apple on the cover represents the
forbidden fruit from the book of
Genesis. It symbolizes Bella and
Edward's love, which is forbidden, like
the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil.
♥ The second novel in the Twilight
saga.
♥ This book, unlike the previous
entry, is about losing true love.
♥ The title refers to the darkest
phase of the lunar cycle,
indicating that New Moon is
about the darkest period of
Bella's life.
♥ The third book in the Twilight saga.
♥ It continues the story of Bella, her
vampire love, Edward, and
werewolf best friend, Jacob.
♥ The broken ribbon represents
choice, as in the book Bella must
choose between two loves.
♥ The ribbon also represents the idea
that Bella can't completely break
away from her human life.
♥ The fourth and final novel in the Twilight
saga.
♥ Divided into 3 "books", all but Book 2 are
told from Bella’s perspective, with the
second being told from the point of view
of Jacob.
♥ The cover is a metaphor for Bella's
progression throughout the entire saga;
she began as the physically weakest
player on the board, the pawn, but ended
up the strongest, the queen.
THE
CHARACTERS
Bella Swan:
♥ Bella is a perpetually clumsy "danger
magnet". She is often portrayed as having
low self-esteem and not being able to grasp
Edward's love for her. Bella has dark brown
hair and chocolate brown eyes. An
important trait of hers is her immunity to
supernatural abilities that involve the mind.
She moves to Forks in order to live with her
father after her mother remarries, where
she then meets the Cullens.
Edward Cullen:
♥ Edward is a vampire who feeds on animals
instead of humans. He is frozen in his 17year-old body from when he died from the
Spanish influenza in 1918. Like some
vampires, Edward has a supernatural
ability; his gift is mind reading, allowing
him to read the thoughts of anyone within
a few miles of himself. Bella, however, is
immune to his power.
Jacob Black:
♥ A minor character in the first novel, Jacob is
introduced as a member of the Quileute tribe.
He resurfaces in New Moon with a much larger
role, becoming a werewolf and Bella's best
friend as she struggles through depression .
Although he is in love with Bella, she initially
sees him as just her best friend. He and his
werewolf pack are enemies of the vampires,
but they come together in order to protect
Bella.
Carlisle Cullen:
♥ Carlisle looks like a model; he has blond hair,
stands at 6'2", and is slender but muscular. He
theorizes that when a human is turned into a
vampire, they will have an enhanced ability
from their previous life. He brought
compassion from his human life. Carlisle has
had centuries to perfect his medicinal talents,
and is now an excellent doctor. He is not at all
tempted by the scent of human blood, because
he has spent 300 years holding back his
temptations.
Esmé Cullen:
♥ She enjoys restoring old houses and her physical
age is 26. She has no special power, but has a
strong ability to love passionately. Esmé is
described as being 5'6" with caramel-coloured hair;
she also has a heart-shaped face with dimples, and
her figure is slender, but rounded and soft. In her
human life, she attempted suicide following the
death of her son. She was then changed into a
vampire, and married Carlisle.
Rosalie Hale-Cullen:
♥ Her physical age is 18, and she was born in 1915
in Rochester, NY. Rosalie is described as being
astoundingly beautiful; she is tall, statuesque,
and has long, wavy blonde hair. As a human,
Rosalie was a woman who had beauty, elegance,
class, and eyes resembling violets. She was
beaten and raped by her fiancée, and then was
changed into a vampire. Rosalie is rather vain,
self centered, and wishes to be human again.
Emmett Cullen:
♥ Emmett is described as being tall, burly,
extremely muscular, and, to most humans, the
most intimidating in the Cullen family. He has
slightly curly dark hair and dimpled cheeks. In
1935 when Emmett was 20, he was mauled
by a bear – found by Rosalie, he was changed
into a vampire and they are now married. He
originally had trouble surviving only on
animal blood, thirsting after humans.
Alice Cullen:
♥ Alice is described as being petite and pixie-like at
4'10", with a graceful gait and hair that is short,
spiky, and black. Her special ability is seeing the
future. This ability is limited; she is only able to see
the outcome of a decision once it is made.
Decisions made in the spur of the moment can not
be foreseen. Alice can see futures involving
humans and vampires, but not of werewolves or
half-breeds. She has no recollection of her human
life, where she was being held in an insane asylum.
Jasper Cullen:
♥ Born in Texas, he joined the Army of Confederates
in 1861 during the Civil War. When he was 20
years old, he was turned into a vampire for
purposes of making a vampire army. He gained the
ability to manipulate the emotions of those around
him. Alice, foreseeing that they would be together,
met up with him and together they sought out the
Cullens. He finds it very difficult to survive on
animal blood alone. He is described as tall with
honey blond hair, and is muscular. His body is
covered with crescent-shaped scars, after years of
fighting newborn vampires.
Charlie Swan:
♥ He is the father of Bella and works as Police Chief in
Forks. His hobbies include fishing with Billy Black,
as well as watching various sports on TV. Charlie
married Bella's mother, Renée, just after they both
graduated high school and they soon had Bella.
Renée divorced Charlie not long after and moved to
Phoenix with Bella. When Bella is seventeen, she
moves to Forks to live with him after Renée
remarries.
Billy Black:
♥ He is Jacob's father, born and raised in La Push, and
an elder of the Quileute tribe. He is heavyset, has a
wrinkled face, russet skin, black hair and black eyes,
and his diabetes has forced him to remain in a
wheelchair. Billy is directly descended from the last
chief of the Quileute tribe, Ephraim Black, who was
his grandfather. He is best friends with Charlie
Swan, and is a sworn enemy of vampires.
Mike Newton:
♥ A friendly boy who initially has a crush on Bella,
though Bella does not return the affection. He
often asks Bella to accompany him on dates, and
Bella usually declines. He has a strong dislike for
Edward Cullen. It is with Mike and a group of
friends in Twilight that Bella goes to First Beach,
where she meets Jacob and learns that Edward is
a vampire.
Angela Weber:
♥ A classmate of Bella's, Angela is
described as being a tall, shy, quiet, and
very kind girl. She has light brown hair
and soft brown eyes. She respects the
space of others and has a very gentle
disposition. Angela becomes very good
friends with Bella, and has a strong
relationship with her boyfriend, Ben
Cheney.
Jessica Stanley:
♥ A classmate of Bella's and her first friend in
Forks. She informs Bella about the Cullen
family on her first day at school. She tends
to be more interested in Bella's popularity
than Bella's actual character, and is
sometimes jealous of Mike's affections
toward Bella. Jessica is described as a
"chatterbox" with curly dark hair.
James:
♥ He is a merciless "tracker" vampire who hunts
human beings or, in some cases, animals, for
sport. James is unusually gifted at what he does
and always gets what he wants. In this first
book, he wants Bella -– mainly her blood.
Unlike the Cullen family, he drinks human
blood as his food source. He is described as
having light brown hair and is average-looking.
Victoria:
♥ A red-haired, cat-like vampire, Victoria is a
member of James' coven. She assists James,
her lover, in hunting Bella. Victoria creates an
army of bloodthirsty newborn vampires in
Seattle to rise up against the combined forces
of the werewolves and Cullen family. Her
supernatural talent is the ability to know the
safe place to escape to.
Laurent:
• A dark-haired, olive-toned vampire, he is a
member of James' coven. He does not assist
James and Victoria in the pursuit of Bella, and
travels to Denali, Alaska in hopes of finding
solace among a coven of "vegetarian" vampires.
However, he does not adopt their strict diet of
drinking animal blood, and "cheats" by
occasionally feeding on humans.
Renée Dwyer:
♥ She married Charlie Swan right after high school,
but left with Bella and divorced him soon after. She
is an eccentric, silly person who will brave new
things and come to her senses later. She is very
insightful and child-like. When Renée remarries,
Bella unselfishly sends herself to live with her dad in
Forks so that Renée and Phil can travel together for
Phil’s job. She is not part of the story much, as she
lives far away.
THE
SETTING
Forks
♥ The story of the Twilight saga is mainly set in the rainy town
of Forks, WA, where Bella lives with her father, Charlie. The
Cullen family resides just outside of town. Forks is the rainiest
place in all of the United States. It rains there almost everyday
of the year, with the exception of approximately 50 days. It is
a neighbor of other towns such as Port Angeles and Olympia,
and is next to the Quileute Native reservation, La Push.
La Push
♥ The story of the Twilight saga sometimes takes place in the
nearby Quileute Native reservation of La Push, next to the
Quileute River. One of the main attractions in La Push is the
Ocean Park Resort of James Beach. It is also known for good
surfing and whaling conditions. Jacob Black lives here with
his family, as well as the entire werewolf pack.
What kind of vampires are these?
♥ The vampires described throughout the Twilight saga are not
your typical kind of vampires. They are not harmed by garlic,
wooden stakes, or silver. They have reflections and are
capable of coming out during the day. They are also capable of
eating human food, though their bodies are unable to digest it
and they must cough it up later.They do not have to breathe,
but typically find it uncomfortable to be without a sense of
smell.
♥ All vampires possess supernatural beauty, which allows them to
lure in prey. Their skin is flawless and has the texture and feel of
marble; in direct sunlight, it sparkles. Newborn vampires have bright
red eyes, though they fade to a deeper crimson over the course of a
year. If a vampire chooses to drink human blood, the most
revitalizing kind of blood for a vampire, then their eyes will be deep
crimson. If they feed on animal blood, like the Cullens, their eyes are
golden in color. All vampires' eyes grow darker with thirst,
eventually fading to black, and they only tire from lack of blood.
♥ All vampires are described as having incredible superhuman
strength, with the ability to uproot trees, throw cars, and crush
metal. Newborns are known to be exceptionally strong during
their first year of being vampires. Vampires have very keen
senses and are able to see and hear clearly for miles and move
with such speed that they become a blur to human eyes. They
are immortal, and very difficult to destroy, only permanently
killed when dismembered and then burned, as their body parts
continue to move even after being detached.
♥ Vampires are not able to sleep, and thus are always awake. After the
transformation from human to vampire, a certain ability is enhanced,
sometimes resulting in a special ability. While not definite, the theory
behind special abilities is that the power is reminiscent of the
individual's original personality. Some have no special abilities, and
instead have a prominent personality or physical trait from their
human life magnified. The Cullen family is one of the only families to
live in such close proximity to humans, and therefore live in the
rainiest town of the USA, where there is no sunlight to sparkle on
them, which would give them away.
What about those werewolves?
♥ Werewolves in the Twilight saga do not age while they regularly
phase into wolves. They heal quickly, have enhanced physical speed
and strength, and can communicate telepathically with each other
while in their wolf forms. As humans, they become much taller and
more muscular. The Quileute tribe wolves are not true werewolves
because they don't transform according to the lunar cycle. Instead,
they are shape-shifters who take the form of wolves. The werewolf
sub-plot becomes prominent in New Moon.
THE
MOVIE
♥ The movie based on the first book
opens on Friday, November 21st.
♥ It was originally scheduled to open
on December 12th, but after Harry
Potter 6 moved their opening date,
Twilight moved up in the schedule
♥ The soundtrack to the movie comes
out on November 4th.
♥ Kristen Stewart is playing Bella,
while Robert Pattinson is
playing Edward
The Cullen Family
Created by Sheena Penfold Residence Don, Nipissing University, North Bay,
Ontario
Twilight font found at:
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/twilight-series/links/1846417