I AM THE MESSENGER
Who is Markus Zusak?
• Markus Zusak lives in
Sydney
• works a real job
• plays on a soccer
team.
• He is already
asserted himself as
one of today’s most
innovative and
poetic novelists.
• He is the award
winning author of
four previous books
for young adults.
Protagonist
Ed Kennedy is the main character
He is nineteen year old
He hasn’t done much with his life.
His job is being a cab driver, which he is even underage
to do.
• One day he stops a bank robbery, and that’s when his life
completely changes.
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Antagonist
• The antagonist of
this book would
be the guy that
put the whole plot
together.
• It never says what
his name is in the
book.
• He was the one
who made Ed do
all of the things he
had to do.
Favorite Character
• My favorite character
is Ed’s friend, Marvin. I
just find him so funny!
• He loves his beat up
old car and is
offended if anyone
harasses him about it.
• By the end of the
book you find out that
he is a responsible guy
and saves his money
for a very important
reason that Ed doesn’t
know about.
Least Favorite Character
• My least favorite
character is Daryl and
Keith.
• They are the ones in the
book that hurt Ed in
order for him to go
around to all the houses
that they put on the
aces.
• They follow him around
and take pictures to
make sure that he is
doing what he is told or
else he gets hurt in the
near future.
Plot Summary:
Exposition
• The exposition starts off with
the bank robbery.
• It introduces the main
characters: Ed, Marvin,
Audrey, and Richie.
• After the bank robbery it
goes into the routine of Ed’s
life like playing cards at
night with his friends and
driving a cab for his job.
• It explains his life and how
he feels about Audrey and
goes into detail about all
his friends, his mom, and
about his dad.
Rising Action
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•
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•
•
The rising action begins to happen
when he gets the first ace. Ace of
diamonds.
It talks about the houses he has to
go to and how to help them out.
Next, the ace of clubs come and he
has another list of houses to go to,
but this one is more of surviving.
And the last ace in the rising action
is the spaces. He has to figure out
the address of the houses by the list
of books that were given to him.
By this point in the book it is showing
how much Ed is changing through
all of this.
Climax
• The climax of this book
is when Ed receives the
Ace of hearts.
• On the playing card
has the three names of
his best friends.
• He thinks he won’t be
able to find anything to
help them with
because he knows
everything about them.
• Little does he knows
everyone has secrets
and so do his friends.
Falling Action
•
•
•
•
•
The falling action begins when
he is sent one last playing card in
the mail, the joker.
The address on the card is his
address. The joker was for him
some lesson he had to learn for
himself.
After he went to his dad’s grave
he came home to find someone
sitting in his kitchen.
It was the guy who started it all.
He made a folder of all the
conversation, the things Ed had
to do, everything.
He finally comes to realize that
the reason this mystery man
made him do all those things
was to show Ed that he wasn’t
useless in the world. That he
could make a difference.
Resolution
• The story finally
comes together
when Audrey
shows up at Ed’s
door. She tells
him that she
loves him and
she wants to
spend the rest of
her life with him.
Setting
Time Period:
The time period is recent.
This is important
because it’s easier to
relate to if you know
the time period.
Place:
I’m going to guess that
this book takes place
somewhere in Australia
because everyone in
the book has an
Australian accent.
Themes:
• I think the basic and most
obvious theme in this book
is how much anyone can
do to change someone
else’s life. That’s what the
mystery guy in the book
was trying to get at.
• Another theme that I got
out of the book was that
nobody’s worthless.
• The third idea that I got out
of this book was that
nobody ever really knows
what happens behind
closed doors.
Rating of Book
• I would have to give
this book an 8 ½
• It really makes you
want to get out and
change the world.
• Also, it’s a hard book
to put down.
• He puts his accent
into his writing which
I found very
interesting and
made me want to
read more!
Alcohol Abuse
• In the book I Am the
Messenger, Ed Kennedy
talks a little bit about his
childhood and his dad. His
dad was an alcoholic that
did little with his life. He
didn’t have a job, his wife
didn’t love him anymore,
and he was very distant
from his kids.
• Alcohol abuse is a big
problem all around the
world with adults and also
with teenagers.
What is Alcoholism?
• Alcoholism is when you
can’t control how much
you drink and when you
drink.
• You always have to
have a drink in your
hand to even do the
simplest tasks in
everyday life.
Youtube Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKSkoTeb
fDo
What’s in alcohol that makes
it so addictive?
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•
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The more alcohol that is
consumed, the more the body
wants.
Ethanol is the addictive substance
in alcohol.
It is poisonous to the human body.
There are many contributing
factors that make alcohol
addictive like the brain and
genetics.
The brain tells the body that it
needs the ethanol in order to do
even the simplest tasks everyday.
They say that if you have a family
history of addiction they have a
higher risk of becoming an addict
themselves.
Music Video:
Walk a Little Straighter Daddy
By: Billy Currington
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1no7
Or9BeI
Alcohol is a Depressant
• Alcohol is a depressant which means it slows the central
nervous system down.
• Most people think that it gives you energy, which they are
right, but not completely.
• It will give you energy for a very short time and then it will
shut your body down.
Teens who drink alcohol
• The National Center on
Addiction and Substance
Abuse said that 80% of
high school students have
tried alcohol.
• 56% of students in grades
5 – 12 say that alcohol
advertising encourages
them to drink.
• 2.6 teenagers didn’t know
you could die from an
overdose.
Drinking and Driving
• The legal limit of BAC
level is .08.
• 120 lb. woman can reach
that level after two
drinks.
• 180 lb. man can reach
that level after only four
drinks.
• 50 out of 10,000 are
arrested for DUI each
year.
Statistics
• In the United States 12 to
14 millions adults abuse
alcohol each year.
• Also, around 100,000
adults will die from
alcohol abuse.
• Alcohol abuse is a large
factor in most of the
country’s car accidents,
suicides, homicides,
domestic violence, and
child abuse.
Poem
Gone.
You reek.
Your eyes are glazed.
Every single day.
You've given in to the temptation and I can't deal.
The times when I needed you most, you needed the drink more.
You used to be bright. My light in life.
And now you're nothing but an eclipse.
I can't make you see, though.
I can't make you realize what you've done to me.
You don't exist in my world anymore.
You're dead to me.
You're dead to everyone.
Don't ask for my forgiveness.
Don't ask me to be there.
You never could do that for me.
I hope you're happy with what you've become.
With what you've left behind.
-Author Unknown
News Broadcast
http://www.strimoo.com/video/16552101/Yout
h-Rights-Video-Drinking-Age-News-BroadcastMySpace Videos.html
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