Marco Stanley Fogg (or M.S. Fogg how he calls himself) belongs to the third category. He grew up at his Uncle Victor’s place and later studied at Columbia University in New York. After his Uncle died he got in financial problems and instead of working he tried to get along with the few money he had left. When this didn’t work he ended up homeless in Central Park where he finally almost died because of an infection. His old friend Zimmer and a girl named Kitty Wu who he met by chance rescued him. After getting better Marco started dating Kitty Wu and was engaged by the old and kind of weird Thomas Effing to be company for him. The blind millionaire Effing made Marco see and describe the world in a detailed way and told him his whole story. They found out that there is a certain relationship between them and after Effing died Marco wanted to discover how they were connected.

During this whole story Marco always tries to figure himself out – to detect who he really is. He nearly kills himself because he doesn’t want to work and to be just normal. Marco goes through very difficult situations – he almost starves to death, he descovers how it feels when people look at you as if you were just waste, he has to work for the very sarcastic and even unfriendly Thomas Effing, he loses people who are very important for him like for example his mother and his uncle and he searches for his father the whole time through. On this long way from growing up at his uncle’s till finding his identity he has to change a lot. Because Paul Auster wrote this novel in the perspective of the first person narrator it is quite easy to recognize and understand this changes in Marcos identity.

I liked it that Auster wrote the story in the perspective of the first person narrator because I think it was easy or at least a lot easier to follow Marcos changes and thoughts and so on than it would have been if the story had been written in another perspective. All in all I have to say that I didn’t liked the novel much because it was just too confusing and Marcos thoughts and actions were too hard to understand. I also think that there are too many characters in the story which appear at a certain point but don’t have any important function for the story like for example Mrs. Hume. At the end I can’t say that it was worth reading this novel because in my opinion the story is just boring and doesn’t seem to be round and fully developed so that there was no fun reading it. The only party which was kind of interesting for me was Effings story. But this can’t grade up the whole novel.

If you are interested in such kinds of stories of course the book can be very good. I just didn’t like the story and because of that I wouldn’t recommend it. I wouldn’t have read it if I hadn’t had to and I won’t read it again.

In the foreground of the picture you can see a lake which is surrounded by a lakeshore covered with some small bushes and some grass. On the right side there is a bigger bush. Behind the lake on the right hand side there is a group of trees and one high tree is sticking out of this group. Next to this tree in the middle of the painting there is a cattle herd (I think) on an open space. A bit further in the background on the left hand side of the painting there is a dark forest. Above all this dominating the whole painting there is a red-orange sky with a sinking sun. The sky is reflected by the lake.

I chose this painting because I think it’s very harmonius and has a positiv effect on the observer. I like the warm colors and the beauty of this landscape and I think it was painted in a realistic way. While looking at “Twilight” I really felt connected to this landscape and it felt like I actually was inside the painting – like I was standing on the lakeshore and watching the sunset. It has a relaxing and comforting effect on me.

2. The only one Auster heard talking about the center was the painter Joan Miro who said that eyery series of graphic work he ever did came in an odd number because than you have a center. Auster agreed completely with him.

3. Every work of art needs a center because you as a reader or listener or observer want to feel that there is a shape to it somwehere under the surface. This shape holds you to the floor and makes you feel more satisfied after having read the story or listened to the music.

à Hero of Effing’s youth!

Rite of passage: – ritual that shows a change in ones social status like for example weddings, coming of age and graduation

Story of initiation: Short stoy in which a character is initiated into a higher state of awareness because of a significant event

Because the terrorist attacks of september 11th were the first in this dimension the whole world was shocked. Now of course everyone fears that his country could be the next and because of this everyone is much more distrustful. It starts with the tougher controlls on the airports. For example  if you want to leave Europe by plane you are not allowed to take as many liquids with you as you want. You have to put them into a plastic back which has at the most one liter capacity and you have to show it to the security. Also big events as the soccer world championship are clouded by the fear of terrorist attacks because you  can never be sure that there is no one wanting to blow up the stadium.

The other big change is of course the Iraq war which started with the justification to search for Osama bin Laden who was related to the terrorist attacks of september 11th. But by now most people think that Bush just wanted to attack the Iraq because of the oil.

So I think the worst change since sptember 11th was that people are always scared that this could happen again. No one can forget those terrible attacks and no one can be sure that this won’t happen in his one country.