LITERATURE ANALYSIS #1

1) The book that I chose was The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. This book starts in 1964 during a snow storm, and introduces two of the novel's main characters, David and Norah Henry.  You learn that David Henry is a doctor, and him and his wife are expecting a child any day on that March evening. Later during this night, Norah goes into labor and David must drive her to his office, which is closer, where he plans to meet the delivery doctor. This other doctor, though, becomes stranded when his car drives into a ditch and David, with the help of his nurse Caroline, must deliver the baby. The first baby comes out, perfect as can be. David then realizes that there is a second baby, which he delivers in shock. As soon as he sees the baby, he knows that she has Down Syndrome, just as his little sister did, who died young. After thinking about the pain his mother went through when his sister died and the hardships of having a constantly sick sibling, David makes a snap decision and hands Caroline the baby, asking her to take it to an institution for children like this. She agrees.
When Norah wakens, David only tells her that the second child, Phoebe, died though their son, Paul, is healthy. By this time Caroline has already set off with the child.
When Caroline reaches the institution, she realizes how poor of a facility David has sent her too. After walking around, trying to find help, she decided to leave, taking Phoebe with her. She stops at the store to get baby formula, in a blizzard, and has her car's battery die. A friendly truck driver, Al, gives her shelter in his truck before driving her back to her home. He stays the night on her couch and leaves in the morning, mentioning that he would like to see her again.
Norah meanwhile grieves the loss of her daughter, who she believes died at birth. This sickens and angers David, who feels she should be happy with what she has, and begins to build a wedge in their relationship. Without telling David, Norah plans a memorial service for her daughter.
Caroline, overcome with all the new possibilities she has in life, leaves town with Phoebe after telling David that she still has his child when she sees a memorial service for Phoebe in the paper. Caroline heads for Pittsburgh. This concludes the exposition.
The secret between Norah and David slowly spoils their marriage, and they even have to move sp Norah doesn't have to deal with the daily reminder of what she lost in the house full of memories. David works later and later, and arrives home late on their anniversary, after Norah drinks too much and visits their old house, also crashing a car. She gives him a camera as a present, which he eventually becomes obsessed with.
Caroline is hired by a woman named Dorothy to help with the aid of Dorthy's elderly father. She works for board and food at first, but eventually becomes like a family member to Dorthy, who believes Phoebe is Caroline's own child. Al, the truck driver, eventually finds Caroline's residence, and they strike up a relationship.
Norah and David continue to grow further apart, and David begins to use photography, and his secluded darkroom, to withdraw from responsibilities. Norah is deeply unhappy and day drinks frequently, often going on long drives on the highway just to get away. She immerses herself in many projects, eventually applying for a travel agency job so that she can build a life of her own.
Caroline works with many other parents, in a program called Upside Down, to fight for children with disabilities rights to an equal education. Phoebe and her continue to live in Dorthy's house, even after her ailing father dies. AL and her build a solid relationship but she denies his marriage proposals, mostly due to her fear that Al does not love Phoebe as much as he acts like. Finally, when Phoebe has a life-threatening reaction to a bee sting, and the nurse at the hospital (noticing that she has Down's) asks if she would rather just let Phoebe die, Caroline fully lets Al into her life when he steps in and tells the nurse that they will not let Phoebe die.
Phoebe and Paul are now thirteen. David and Norah's marriage has deteriorated over the years, though her success in the travel agency has sky-rocketed, and on a trip to Aruba she has an affair with another man, Howard. Both David and Paul realize what she has done, but keep to themselves, which only drives the family apart even more. Paul has an amazing ability to play the guitar and wants to go to Julliard. David feels that this is not a stable career path and does not support his dreams, which angers Norah and Paul.
Dorothy, with her boyfriend, decide to take a year-long cruise around the world, leaving Caroline the house. Caroline and David have stayed in touch over the years, and he frequently sends her money which she saves for Phoebe, and eventually he asks to meet Phoebe. Caroline is unsure at first, but then becomes afraid that he might hurt her, and continues to block David from their lives.
Phoebe, who was once in love with David, secretly decides to attend one of his art shows. He does not recognize her at first, but then they have an intense conversation that is interrupted by an art critic. Caroline, who regrets coming, slips out the back, leaving David devastated. On a whim, he decides to visit the town of his childhood, and ends up at his old home. He finds a homeless, pregnant teenage girl living their, and he spills to her his huge secret. They bond and he decides that he can not leave her in the state she is in, and brings her home with him. This shocks Paul and Norah, who thought he was dead, and they have a suspicion that there is some kind of sexual relationship between the two. Paul, after talking to the girl, Rosemary, realizes there is not but becomes overwhelmed with all the changes in his life and steals a neighbor's car, aiming to drive to California. He eventually gets arrested for shoplifting and is picked up by his parents. He is furious with both of them but is stubborn that he will go to Julliard in the fall, where he has been accepted. This scene, and the ones that proceed it, are the climax and turning point of the book.
David now lives with Rosemary and her son Jack, while Norah is dating a new man. Paul is studying music in France with his girlfriend. Phoebe has feelings for her friend who also has Down Syndrome, Robert, and wants to move into a group home and be able to marry him. Caroline is afraid of letting her go, and worried what would happen is she gave her that much independence. David thinks about telling Norah about Phoebe, but when he arrives at her house he realizes she is in France for work with her boyfriend. Shortly after, he dies. Caroline learns of his death when an account for Phoebe becomes available to her, and she travels to Norah to tell her the truth. Norah is blown away, and realizes that she did not truly know David as well as she thought she did. She wants to reach out to Phoebe, and eventually her and Paul go to Pittsburgh to meet her. Paul and Norah try to invite Phoebe into their life, but she is hesitant. In the closing scene, Phoebe attends Norah's wedding with Paul before Norah and her husband set out for France, their new home. On the way home, Paul and Phoebe stop at their father's grave, where they sit in peace.

2) This novel has two major themes, the Burden of Secrets and the Issue of Children with Down Syndrome.
Throughout this entire story, the main problem that the character's have is that they are all keeping secrets from the ones they love. The biggest secret, which David keeps, is that he gave away his daughter. Almost the second David starts to lie, saying that the baby died, he drives a wedge between him and his wife. From that point on, nothing is the same. Both David and Norah look for ways to cope with this unspoken secret in different ways; David through his photography and Norah through her work and affairs. 
The issue of children with Down's Syndrome is also a very reoccurring theme. In 1964, the year of Phoebe and Paul's birth, children with this disorder were not given the attention they are today. They were dismissed as unteachable and someone who would have a very short life. David symbolizes the people that believe that people like Phoebe will never make it anywhere, while Caroline stands for the people that are willing to fight for their rights, and understand that they are very capable given the right help. 

3) There is a general tone of melancholy during this novel. There is not a truly happy ending in this novel, though it gets as close as it really can. For most of the time in this novel, the characters are truly unhappy and lead unfulfilled lives with deep holes that they try to fill in various ways. In the end David even refects "the life he had lived was not the one he had imagined for himself."
Though this is the way David feels when his life ends, Caroline feels differently, giving a sense of hope, a silver lining in a life of despair. “This was her life. Not the life she had once dreamed of, not a life her younger self would ever have imagined or desired, but the life she was living, with all its complexities. This was her life, built with care and attention, and it was good.” Through David's narrative of the story there is a sense of heartbreak, though through Caroline's narrative we find the idea of hope. As soon as Caroline decided to take her future into her own hands, with a child and a job and a man she loved, she was opened to possibilities of a love-filled life that she hadn't known before.
Through Paul's narrative there is amounts of teen angst and disappointment, but when he talks about music he is filled with joy. “Music is like you touch the pulse of the world. Music is always happening, and sometimes you get to touch it for a while, and when you do you know that everything's connetcted to everything else.” Paul gives an optimistic younger view of the world apart from Caroline and David's views. 9

4) Throughout the novel there is many uses of sensory detail, like "the clean cotton sheet soft against her skin," ( Edwards 184). Sensory detail helped to put the reader in the shoes of the character, to help understand how they felt. 
Metaphors are also used to help picture the story even more, like "a sea of darkened heads flowed downward" (Edwards 189). Also personification is used in the same purpose, "the headlights playing on the walls," (Edwards 95) as well as similes, "their histories woven together like vines, tendrils around shoot" (Edwards 332).
Irony is also used in this story, like the irony of having a memorial service for a baby who is still alive.
Alliteration is used throughout the story as well, "her voice sounded strident, shrill, as if she" 
(Edwards 341). 
Repetition is used frequently as well, usually illustrate something important by repeating it, "then surely, surely, it was the worst"  (Edwards 69) 
Some example of oxymorons are used, like 'But Caroline, it's so bittersweet," (Edwards 225).
Some onomatopoeia can be used as well "the soft touch of her hands or the cooing sounds she made when she was happy," (Edwards 95). 
I noticed also a few paradoxes while reading, notably "A moment was not a single moment at all, but rather an infinite number of different moments,"  (Edwards 214)