Written by: Marcus Zusak Main Characters Ed Kennedy Audrey Marv Ritchie Awards

2. Written by: Marcus Zusak Main Characters Ed Kennedy Audrey Marv Ritchie Awards CBCA (Children’s Book Council of Australia) Book of the Year

3. What we will explore in the Messenger Plot Characterisation Dialogue Themes/ideas Symbolism Structure Allusions Meta-fiction Imagery

4. Messenger quiz 1. Who are Ed’s three best friends? 2. What event starts the book? 3. What order do the cards come in? 4. What order do the cards come in? 5. Who is the man with the briefcase?

5. The beginning: The story begins with an introduction to the character of Ed Kennedy, a down-and-out underage taxi driver who is in love with his best friend Audrey, who, to his dismay, feels that she cares about him too much to date him. Ed is standing in a bank queue when a robbery takes place. He accidentally foils the robber’s escape, and is proclaimed a hero. Shortly after, he receives an Ace of Diamonds in the mail. Plot The ending: The last card is a Joker and has his own address written on it. But as it is made clear in the last lines of the novel it's all about the realization of chances and potential because as Ed finally says: "I'm not the messenger at all. I'm the message." We learn that the person sending the cards was Zusak himself. Ed was the 'guinea pig' of an experiment to see if an ordinary (very unsuccessful) man could perform the impossible and give hope to the world that this generation is not useless. As the book comes to a close, Audrey comes to Ed and reveals that she does love him, deciding to move in with him for good.

6. The Cards • In the middle of the book Ed receives 5 playing cards. Four aces and a joker. • Your task: Match up the relevant aces with • The right task • The right instruction • The right meaning behind the card

7. Theme! Recognising the extraordinary in the ordinary. We all have something extraordinary about us, no matter where we are from or who we are. We all have the potential to be extraordinary, it’s about taking hold of your life and making changes, while also taking pleasure in the little things. Be kind, be active, take risks, don’t be a bystander. Ed’s life changes when he stops being a bystander and stops blaming other people for his own failures. Successdoesn’t always consist of commonly acknowledged achievements. Just small things…which are big. What does this mean?

8. Extra vs ordinary Extraordinary Ordinary Getting mystery cards in the mail Working as a cabbie

9. Characterisation - Major The Messenger is packed full of interesting characters who rotate around our protagonist, Ed. Your task: Your group will be given a set of quotes which relate to the 4 main characters. Match the quotes to their appropriate characters. Come up with a list of adjectives that describe your two assigned characters. Share adjectives with the rest of the class to get words for the other 2.

10. Ed Kennedy Your job: Write Ed a short Lonely Hearts advert as if he was going to try out internet dating. It needs to be short and punchy, so no more than 150 words. You can use words from the quotes about Ed to help. You have two choices: Be completely honest about Ed’s faults, or Try to use euphemistic language to gloss over his bad parts, eg. When they describe tiny, cramped houses as “cosy” in house ads.

11. Lonely hearts examples ND - Non Drinker OHAC - Own house and car TLC - Tender loving care NS - Non smoker YO - Years old OFAC - Own flat and car WLTM - Would like to meet GSOH - Good sense of humour Some abbrevs to help you.

12. Audrey Audrey seems incapable of loving anyone because the people in her life that she loved have hurt her. Like Ed, she has let her past control her life. Instead of letting anyone in she sleeps with people who she doesn’t truly love. She keeps people at arms length. Your task: Imagine Audrey is a member of AskFM. Write a question as Audrey which addresses something in her life she might need help or advice about. Reply to her question with the advice you think she might need. Write a facebook message you would say to another friend to describe why Audrey is the way she is.

13. Characterisation - Minor There a number of minor characters which display our theme “recognising the extraordinary in the ordinary” very well. Your task: 1. Write a note next to each saying why you think they are extraordinary. 2. Draw a picture next to each to help you remember. Milla– “She ate a salad and some soup, and loneliness , she ate that too.” “No other man has entered her life. Not the way her Jimmy did. She’s been waiting years for her Jimmy to come back. And now he has.” Sophie – “On her face is the beauty of the morning and for the first time she recognises it, 5.30 am.” The Tatupu family on Glory Road – “Sometimes people are beautiful, not in looks, not in what they say, just in what they are.” “When they laugh you can see the world in their eyes.”

14. Milla - Ordinary? Hers is a beautiful story of loyalty and love. Sophie - Sophie is someone who needed encouragement to be herself. She runs barefoot, and is only herself in those moments. Ordinary? Ed doesn’t think so. He thinks she has beauty and grace. Tatupu family - This family have such love for each other they are extraordinary. These three show us that it is easy for us to dismiss people, this is about “looking closer” seeing the quiet heroes, the potential we all have, recognising that no-one is ordinary we are all capable of greatness and heroism. Relate to Ed, an educated cab driver who manages to be a hero to countless people by small, single acts.

15. An example of metafiction Daffy Duck!! How is this metafiction?

16. Metafiction A good way to think about it is it’s like the author or character winking at you from within the book. They are “breaking the fourth wall” as they say in theatre. They are acknowledging this is a work of fiction. Zusak does this for a specific reason that he makes explicit in the end of the book. He creates this world and these characters for a reason… what does he want us to realise by doing this? He wants us (and Ed) to realise that if even a character as hopeless and useless as Ed Kennedy can change his life, realise his potential, and affect change in other’s lives, than it really is possible for anyone, including the author to do so as well. Ed is a guinea pig for Zusak to discover the truth about human potential. The potential to be extraordinary that we all have, if we could just realise it and make it happen. By putting himself in his own novel and acknowledging Ed’s role as a character in a book, we see not just Ed’s potential but our own as well. He makes us question our lives and what we have accomplished. Ed is the message, and Zusak the messenger. We are the recipients to that message. We just have to be listening.

17. Metafiction quotes Your task: Pick the two quotes you think best show metafiction in relation to our theme. (You could pick part of a quote instead of the whole one.) Write a note next to each of them explaining how they do that. “I’ve been watched all along, but never have I felt as vulnerable or scrutinized as right now.” – p 341 “I came to this town a year ago, Ed… I saw your father buried. I saw you and your card games and your dog and your ma. I just kept coming back, watching, the same way you did at all those addresses… I killed your father, Ed. I organised the bungled bank robbery for a time I knew you’d be there. I instructed that man to brutalise his wife. I made Daryl and Keith do all those things to you… I did it all to you. I made you a less than competent taxi driver and got you to do all those things you thought you couldn’t…. And why? Because you are the epitome of ordinariness, Ed… and if a guy like you can stand up and do what you did for all those people, well, maybe everyone can. Maybe everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of… Maybe even I can.” – p 353 “What would you do if you were me? Tell me. Please tell me! But you’re far from this. Your fingers turn the strangeness of these pages that somehow connect my life to yours. Your eyes are safe. The story is just another few hundred pages of your mind. For me, it’s here. It’s now.” P 89 “You are like he was… and just like him you were most likely to die the same way – a quarter of what you could have been… you see Ed, you were always an absolute no-hoper – just like your old man… and we’ve been employed to test you – to see if you can avoid this life.. the only problem is… it wasn’t your father who sent us.” – p347

18. That’s so Meta (fiction) What is metafiction? Metafictionuses literary techniques to draw attention to itself as a work of art, while exposing the "truth" of a story. "Metafiction" is the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously draws attention to its status as a piece of art in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality, usually using irony and self-reflection. Metafictiondoes not let the reader forget he or she is reading a fictional work. Some things that show you a work is a piece of metafiction are when: A story containing another work of fiction within itself; A book in which the book itself seeks interaction with the reader; A story in which the characters are aware that they are in a story;A novel where the narrator intentionally exposes him or herself as the author of the story; A story about a writer creating a story; A story about a reader reading a book;A story containing another work of fiction within itself. How many of these aspects does The Messenger contain?

19. Quotes continued “I recall the sensation of the town feeling painted around me and of feeling invented. Is this happening.” – p 353 “For a long time, I wonder what I’m waiting for, but I understand it’s just like he said. I guess it’s for life beyond these pages.” – p 355 “Everything. Everything I wrote for you. Every idea I scratched around with. Every person you helped, hurt, or ran into… even this… this discussion.” – p353 “I got through the folder incessantly. I sit there and comb through it. I rummage and plow among the loose papers. “I’m looking for this… I’m looking for you and me, together.” She knees with me and places her hand on mine to make me drop the papers. “I don’t think it’s in there… I think, Ed…. This belongs to us.” – p 357 “Of course you’re real – like any thought or any story. It’s real when you’re in it.” – p354 “Keep living, Ed. It’s only the pages that stop here.” – p354 “That’s when I realise… I’m not the messenger at all. I’m the message.” – 357 “The odds are, however, that he’s beaten me to it already. It’ll be his name on the cover of all these words, not mind. He’ll get all the credit… but just remember that I was the one – not him- who gave life to these pages.” – p 355

20. Biblical Allusion Ed the messenger, Ed the saint, Ed the saviour. Despite seeming to be a no hoper, Ed is forced to play the role of the messenger, the saint and the saviour when he starts receiving the cards. In this way, Ed is like Jesus figure, while the person sending the cards/the author/Zusak is the all knowing, all seeing God. His acts are not always big, but his small contributions affect change in his own life and others. By helping people in whatever way they need it, he makes his own life extraordinary. The stories told in this novel are akin to parables. Ed must act the Good Samaritan and help a series of people to find their heart’s desire. But the needs of each are different, and the type of task required is different too. Question: Is he saying Ed is a saint? Or is he showing us something else?

21. Biblical Allusion quotes “Clubs are no snack, my son. The question is, are you up to it? Or is that question irrelevant? Surely you weren’t up to the Ace of Diamonds. But you did it. Good luck and keep delivering. I’m quite sure you realise your life depends on it.” P 113 “Why have I been chosen for this? I beg, despite knowing without questions what I have to do. You were happy with the other two, I castigate myself. So now you have to do this one.” P 81 “You know, they say that there are countless saints who have nothing to do with church and almost no knowledge of God. But they say God walks with those people without them ever knowing it… you’re one of those people, Ed. And it’s an honour to know you.” P 156 “The damn card is like gravity itself. Like a cross to strap across my back.” P 113 “’Are you some kind of saint or something?’ Inside I laugh. Me? A saint? I list what I am. Taxi driver. Local deadbeat. Cornerstone of mediocrity. Sexual midget. Pathetic cardplayer… ‘No, I’m not a saint…I’m just another stupid human.” P 74 “The father speaks with a sincerity that’s hypnotising. Not about god, but about the people of this town getting together. Doing things together. Helping each other. And just getting together in general.” P 162

22. Imagery Zusak uses the dark/light, day/night imagery repeatedly in the novel. In the context of our theme and characters, what could that dark/light dichotomy represent? And what are some examples that show it?

23. Zusak’s repeated use of light and dark can be seen to represent good and evilas well as Ed movement from no hoper to someone with a purpose. He goes from being someone ordinary to recognising others and his own potential to be extraordinary. For example, the fact that Ed chooses to face all of his earlier “cards” in the dark is a fact not to be overlooked; as the book progresses and Ed becomes more confident in his missions, more and more of his challenges are dealt with during the day. Egs: “The sun is up – an orange cutout in a cardboard sky. I make it to the top and kneel down. My hands touch the cool stone.” One could say Zusak uses the idea of reaching the top of the rock face as the sun is rising as a symbol for the perseverance and determination of Ed in the novel. This could also be seen as a reflection of Ed’s evolving conflicts and character in the novel – once dejected and relatively isolated, the sun is now “rising” from darkness, dawning on a new chapter in his life and possibly revealing the answer to the “cards” themselves. Imagery

24. DARKNESS AND LIGHT QUOTES “We sit in on the front steps, which are half in shadow, half in the sun. As it happens, I sit in the darkness and Tommy sits in the light… I’d wanted to stay on the porch with him until the sun shone bright on both of us, but I didn’t… I’d rather chase the sun than wait for it.” P 282-283 “I cant let him slink off to that darkness place inside him, where his pride is strewn all over the floor in some hidden room.” P 302 “I meet the darkness and uncertainty of what will come next. I feel the fear, but I walk fast toward it.” P 289 “The words stagger slowly from Marv’s mouth. Half his face is trodden with darkness, covered but I can still make out the outlines, the forms.” – p 317 “The first two hold me up with the rising of the sun.” p75 “God it’s dark now. As dark as the Ace of Spades.” P 245 “Each time a shudder makes its way to my arms and legs, I walk harder, deciding if Audrey needs me, and Ritchie and Marv, I have to hurry. Fear is the street. Fear is every step. The darkness grows heavier on the road and I begin. To run.” P290 “I wonder for a moment why I didn’t just set my alarm at home and come over at dawn, but I know I have to do this right. I had to suffer the night to do this properly.” – p333 “If my stomach was a colour, I think, it would be black, like tonight.” P 296

25. Major Symbols

26. Symbolism - Ed’s neighbourhood (also counts as setting) Ed lives is a town near Sydney, Australia. But his suburb could stand in for many in New Zealand, or any Western country, it’s an “every town” like the “everyman” in a virtue and vice story. Meaning it stands in for our own towns and neighbourhoods. It’s “run of the mill”. “The town we all live in is pretty run of the mill. Its past the outskirts of the city and has good and bad parts. I’m sure it wont surprise you that I come from one of the bad parts. My whole family grew up at the far north of town, which is kind of like everyone’s dirty secret. There are plenty of teenage pregnancies there, a plethora of shithead fathers who are unemployed and mothers like mine who smoke, drink, and go out in public wearing ugboots.” P17

27. What does the neighbourhood symbolise? It’s not the place, I think, it’s the people. We’d have been all the same anywhere else. P 245 “It’s the person, Ma, not the place. If you left here, you’d have been the same anywhere else…. If I ever leave this place.. I’ll make sure I’m better here first.” P 283 The neighbourhood represents our excuses and justifications for why we aren’t living the lives we should be. It allows us to let luck control our lives. Ed realises this and determines he will be better in his own home before leaving. It also shows us that even in a place like this, heroes and extraordinary people and stories are happening. Ed uses his neighbourhood as an excuse for his own failure. He blames it for his lack of motivation and focus. Don’t use where you come from as an excuse for your ineptitude, your failure. Ed needs to recognise the ordinariness was him, not where he came from.

28. Relatable? I’m from Palmerston North, which has very similar associations. People think if you’re from Palmerston North you’re going to be a pregnant teen, an alcoholic, a school drop out. That you’ll wear ug boots to the supermarket, smoke around your kids, and sign up for the benefit. Can anyone relate to this?

29. What does this mean? What effect does it have if people around you are negative about your community, and you are too? What message should we take from the novel about where we live and where we come from? Where could this kind of connection to the text help in terms of essay writing?

30. Symbolism – The playing cards Talk to your neighbour: What do playing cards represent in life? What associations do they have with them? What could they represent in this book? (There may be more than one correct answer.) Luck – you might have bad luck but you can’t blame it forever Chance Gambling Doing what you can with the cards you are dealt Mastering life like you master a game of cards Taking control – not letting the cards you receive be the end of the story You need to take risks to get any reward

31. Where do we see the cards as symbolic? The card game - Annoyance The messenger cards The structure The suit themselves

32. Annoyance The 4 friends get together every week to play annoyance. What could this be symbolic of? (Hint: think about the name…)

33. The messenger cards Clearly the cards themselves are symbolic. Ed says “I imagine a full hand of aces in that drawer, fanned out as a player would hold them in a game. I never thought I wouldn’t want four aces. In a card game, you pray for a hand like that. My life is not a card game.” 117 This quote is slightly ironic… Ed’s life isn’t a card game, but it has been created by Zusak. While Ed had his cards dealt by the author he can still make changes and have an extraordinary life. And if someone like Ed can do it… anyone can. So the cards represent the life you are in, not what you can do. We are all dealt certain cards, but unlike Ed, we have full authorial authority over our own lives. And we need to take risks in order to move forward.

34. Structure How is the book set out? What does Zusak use to structure the novel? Zusak structures the book around a deck of cards. Ed must work his way through each of the decks in order to fullfil his role and find meaning in his life. While most of us don’t have to take on a journey like Ed, Zusak is encouraging each of us to consider the various aspects the suits represent. It’s also no coincedence that the cards are Aces – Aces are either the lowest or highest card in the deck. Again, he is reminding us that while Ed’s life is “a game of cards”, our own isn’t. We have full control of our lives. We are the author of our own lives, unlike Ed. While we may have excuses, like Ed does, we can see that even someone who has been created to be useless can achieve extraordinary acts, then we can too.

35. Suits In addition to the overall symbolism of the cards, the suits each have their own symbolism. Your task: Identify what each suit represents. What was Zusak trying to do with the different meanings of the suits?

36. Playing cards quotes “I was lying about throwing out the diamonds. No one in their right mind would throw diamonds out, would they? They’re valuable. If anything, they need protecting.” P70 “Protect the diamonds. Survive the clubs. Dig deep through the spades. Feel the hearts.” “Later that night I look in the bathroom mirror. Two black eyes. Swollen jaw. A blood stream flowing to my throat… I stare strangely into the face of clubs.” P 180 “I imagine a full hand of aces in that drawer, fanned out as a player would hold them in a game. I never thought I wouldn’t want four aces. In a card game, you pray for a hand like that. My life is not a card game.” [ 117 “I have to dig. This is spades so I have to dig.” P214 ‘People die of broken hearts. They have heart attacks. And it’s the heart that hurts most when things go wrong and fall apart.’ p 292 “I remember the diamonds, relive the clubs, and even smile about the spades. I worry about the hearts.” P 280

37. Minor symbols

38. The Christmas Lights are Ed’s way of making the Tatupu family feel acknowledged and welcomed. It’s a small gesture, not heroic or brave, but it means so much to them. He realises from this act that small things can have a big impact. That the ordinary can be extraordinary and that behind the façade of an ordinary house there can be beauty and something special. It also shows how a small gesture can mean the world to someone. “Four globes to brighten up the Tatupu house this year. It’s not a big thing, but I guess it’s true – big things are often just small things that are noticed.” P 221 “Lua kisses her. Just softly on the lips. And she kisses back. Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are.” P 224 “This isn’t about words. It’s about glowing lights and small things that are big.” P 221

39. Have a think…. Has anyone ever done something like this for you? It might seem small to them but it made your day/week/year? Or…. Have you ever done some thing like this for someone else? Not for the thanks, or the reward, just to make their day? If you said no…. Why not? What’s stopping us?

40. The Invisible Running Shoes When Ed meets Sophie he can’t figure out what she needs. When he sees her run, he sees her true beauty. She is happiest when she runs barefoot. By giving her the invisible shoes he is giving her permission to be extraordinary, to run her races barefoot and enjoy it in the same way she does at 5.30am. The shoes represent the fact that she had that ability all along, she just needed to be reminded of it. Each message Ed delivers lets him know the same thing.

41. Angie Carusso’sicecream Like the Christmas Lights, the icecream is a small gesture that has big effects. Angie is a solo mum with small children. This is a demanding life with very little recognition. Of course she loves her children, but in having them she has sacrificed a different possible life. What does it mean that Ed gives her the icecream? What is he trying to say to her?

42. “It’s the person, Ma, not the place. If you left here, you’d have been the same anywhere else…. If I ever leave this place.. I’ll make sure I’m better here first.” P 283 Dialogue “You are like he as… and just like him you were most likely to die the same way – a quarter of what you could have been… you see Ed, you were always an absolute no-hoper – just like your old man… and we’ve been employed to test you – to see if you can avoid this life. “You were sent here to remind yourself that you don’t want to die the same way your father did. Understand?” p 348 “You know, they say that there are countless saints who have nothing to do with church and almost no knowledge of God. But they say God walks with those people without them ever knowing it… you’re one of those people, Ed. And it’s an honour to know you.” P 156 “Yes, you’re here – and that’s exactly it!... Look at this dump. The house, the town, everything… your father – he promised me that one day we’d leave this place. He said we’d just pack up and go, and look where we are, Ed. We’re stil her. I’m here. You’re here, and just like your old man, you’re all promises, Ed, and no results… you could be as good as any of them… but you’re still here and you’ll still be here in fifty years… and you’ll have achieved nothing… I just want you… to make something of yourself.” P 245 “Are you looking at a dead man now?” p351