Jo

If Jo was a physical, tangible object she would definitely be a book. She would not be a book just because she works in a bookstore but because she is sort of closed to other people unless they put in the effort to get to know her. This describes a book because a person doesn't know what is in a book unless they put in the effort to read it. Jo is also very smart and full of knowledge, especially for her age. The people who just meet Jo don't always see the real Jo. She likes to trick them into thinking she is something she is not.  You can't judge a book by its cover with Jo like when she meets Charlotte she says her name is Josephine and lies about her parents. She does not tell her that her mother works at a brothel and she doesn't know who her father is. Also at the party at Charlottes uncles no one there knows about her family's past so she makes everything up about herself. The only people who know the true Jo put in the effort to get to know her.

Out of the Easy: Setting

The main setting of Out of the Easy is the French Quarter of New Orleans. This has major effects on the story. It is the worse part of New Orleans and this is where the protaganist, Jo, lives. The quarter is simple and some what nice in most areas. Since Jo lives in a bookshop she has it pretty good in the quarter. The other area of New Orleans in the book is uptown or otherwise known as the Garden District. Uptown is where all of the rich people live. Its is much nicer and safer than the quarter. This is what they might have looked like.

Uptown

French Quarter

As you can see, uptown is much nicer. Each of these places has an effect on the people who live in them. The people in the quarter have a lot less possessions but tend to by happier. People in uptown have many more possessions and nicer homes but end to be very unhappy. One of the characters in the book, Cokie, describes the people in uptown as "soul dead". Now ask yourself, would you rather live in uptown and be unhappy or live in the less glamorous quarter and be happy?

"Out of the Easy" First Impresions

I began a new book called Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. This is a story about a teenage girl named Jo living in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1950's. She has an interesting and tough life and gets no help from her mother, who is a prostitute living in a cathouse. She isn't all alone. The women in charge of the area and the cathouse named Willie looks after her and all of the other more intelligent people in the area. She had Jo live and work at a bookshop in the quarter where Jo and the owner are good friends. The Quarter is shaken up when news of a man called Cincinnati was coming to town. He was a terrible man who stole Jo's mothers heart. For one he was terrible and two, it was against Willie's Rules. If this wasn't enough a good man from Memphis who was visiting was killed on new years day in 1950. The quarter was crazy. This is how far I' gotten and I ended with Jo investigating the death of the man. So far I really like it.

   

Practice Post

In the beginning, Dodger was uneducated and didn't understand typical social conventions. He demonstrates this in his first conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Mayhew. He showed a lack of understanding in the conversation and rambled about things that weren't relevant to the conversation. He says, "Well dear Mrs. Mayhew, I can promise you that there will not be any hanky-panky, because I do not know what panky is and I've never had a hanky..."

In the middle of the novel Dodger finds himself at a fancy dinner and really needs to use the restroom. He really has to go and is surrounded by ladies. Dodger realizes it would be quite inappropriate to ask said ladies where he could relieve himself. So he is picking up on polite social conventions.

Towards the end, Dodger is surrounded by country locals and needs to blend. He observes them and notices their actions. He begins to speak and act like the locals. He says,"Oi reckon we oughtta be moving along now, moi goyirl." He picked up the social conventions of all types of people and it gets him out of situations that move the story along. 

Dodger Reveiw
This is a good review on the book.