Literature Analysis

Non-fiction Analysis

Topics and/or Events

1.    The book Beautiful Stranger is about the investigation for the mysterious suicide of Kate Morgan, who checked into the Hotel del Coronado under the alias of “Lottie A. Bernard.”

2.    I think the author chose to write about Kate Morgan to maybe find out more about her identity and reasoning behind her suicide.

3.    I visited the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego this past summer. I heard about the hotel’s history and the story about Kate Morgan on a tour of the hotel. Her ghost supposedly still haunts the Hotel del Coronado till this day. There have been many witnesses, hotel staff and guests that have encountered her spirit.  I actually stood in the area her body was found and I wanted to know so much more about the whole thing.

4.    I found the book really realistic because I personally heard the stories from employees at the hotel before I purchased the book. I made many connections with events that happened in the book. I remember walking down the halls ways and passing by the rooms exactly how it was all mentioned in the book.

People

1.    The author didn’t write any of his or her own personal interpretations. If I were to meet Kate Morgan in real life, I feel she would seem exactly as she is described in the story and by the present hotel staff. The staff back wen this was all going on really observed her while she was stay because of her independent traveling and mysterious behavior. The author’s tone is very ominous. The author really wanted to make the reader sense the mystery and maybe find out more about Kate’s past and why her ghost still haunts the hotel today.

2.    Kate is probably the best character to describe. She is such an interesting character. Her presence was so off-putting to all of those she came in contact with. She seems very elegant and proper. She was always dressed fancy, but she was always alone. Woman never traveled alone back in 1892. Kate was ill and told employees she was suffering from stomach cancer. She definitely kept her problems to herself and put on an act for everyone. No one can come to think why she had taken her life.

If I were to write her as a fictional character, I would just rewrite the story after her shooting herself. Maybe the person who finds, stubbles upon a zombie! The bullet reacted with her brain and took over her whole body and she would start attacking people.

Another character I’m going to describe is A.S. Gomer who was the hotel employee that tended to Kate’s needs while she was staying at the hotel. He was very helpful and friendly towards Kate, sometimes having to bring her blankets or towels at odd hours of the night.

To make him a fictional character, I would make A.S. Gomer ghost himself. He would be able to convince people he was a human, so no one ever knew. He would be the reasoning behind Kate’s death. I would make him a murdering ghost. He took the gun to Kate’s head that drizzling evening. He’s even the ghost that haunts the Hotel del Coronado to this day!

3.    Kate is so interesting to me. Her actual life is so unknown to this day and the reasoning behind her death is unknown as well. I understand why the author would have wanted to write this book. Reading this book makes me want to find out more about her. I wrote about the bellhop because he was the employee and person who saw Kate Morgan the most. He didn’t communicate with her much to be as professional as possible. He definitely knew there was something odd about Mrs. Morgan from the get go.

Personal Vocab #3

Virtues- behavior showing high moral standards 

Ex- The virtues of power sharing between men and women. 

Robust- strong, healthy; vigorous 

Sagging- decline to a lower level

Deficit- the amount by which something is too small 

Suppressing- forcibly put to an end

Trivialized- make something seem less important or complex than it really is 

Ex- the problem was either trivialized or ignored by teachers. 

Hence- as a consequence 

Masculinity- possession of the qualities traditionally associated with men

Ex-

Domestic- of or relating to the running of the home or to family relations

Inclusion- the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure 

Empirical- based on, concerned with or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic 

Impediments- a hindrance or obstruction in doing something 

Psyches- mentally prepare (someone) for a testing task or occasion 

Ex- We had to psyche ourselves up for the race. 

Derision- contemptuous ridicule or mockery 

Ex- My stories were greeted with derision and disbelief

Guerrilla- a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting 

Ex- The town fell to the guerrillas. 

Fictitious- not real or true; being imaginary or having been fabricated 

Ex- Rhett told a fictitious story. 

Complexity- the state or quality of being intricate or complicated

Ex- An issue of great complexity. 

Elite- a group of peole considering to be the best in a particular society 

Ex- The wealthy educated elite. 

Summit- the highest attainable level of achievement 

Ex- My summit was being accepted into Cal Poly. 

Orthodoxy- authorized or generally accepted theory, doctrine or practice

Ex- He challenged many of the established orthodoxies. 

Personal vocabulary

Extensively- covering of affecting a large area
Ex- An extensive garden.

Revelations- a surprising and previously unknown fact that has been disclosed to others.
Ex- Revelations about his personal life.

Codified- arrange according to a plan or system
Ex- This would codify existing intergovernmental cooperation on drugs.

Intrastate- existing or occurring within the boundaries of a state
Ex- Intrastate commerce.

Inquiries- an act of asking for information
Ex- The deluge of phone inquiries after a crash.

Sought- attempt to find something
Ex- Her parents had never sought to interfere with her freedom.

Democratic- relating to or supporting democracy or its principles
Ex- Democratic Party in government.

Capitalist- a person who uses their wealth to invest in trade and industry for profit in accordance with the principles of capitalism.
Ex- The creation of the factory system by nineteenth-century capitalists.

Embodies- be an expression of or give a tangible or visible form to an idea
Ex- A national team embodies competitive spirit and skill.

Paradoxically- seeming absurd or self-contradictory
Ex- By glorifying the acts of violence they achieve the paradoxical effect of making them trivial.

Malaise- feeling or discomfort; illness or unease
Ex- A general malaise in the air.

Self-congratulatory- undue complacency or pride regarding one's personal achievements
Ex- A hefty dose of self-congratulation about how noble we are.

Inquisitive- having or showing an interest in learning things
Ex- His poems reveal an intensely inquisitive mind.

Humanistic- a rationalist outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters.
Ex- He definitely had a humanistic view of people.

Advocacy- public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy
Ex- His outspoken advocacy of the agreement has won no friends.

Acquisition- an asset or object bought or obtained, typically by a library or museum.
Ex- The legacy will be used for new acquisitions.

Indispensable- absolutely necessary
Ex- He made himself indispensable to the parish priest.

Affiliated- officially attached or connected to an organization
Ex- If I commit to Long Beach, I will be affiliated with the 49ers.

Candidacy- a person who applies for a job or is nominated for election
Ex- She was the perfect candidate for the job.

Sovereignty- supreme power or authority
Ex- The sovereignty of Parliament.