Novel Studies CRT of The Art of Racing in the Rain, ISBN: 9780062023063
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Course
American literature
Institution
11th Grade
Book
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The GOOD copy, GRADED copy and ROUGH DRAFT of an example of a CRT. Using the prompt "what ideas does the author develop regarding what drives individuals to make choices in their lives?", they use examples from the novel "The Art of Racing in the Rain"
what drives individuals to make choices in their lives
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CRT - The Art of Racing in the Rain
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What idea does the author develop regarding what drives individuals to make choices in
their lives?
To decide
Garth Stein's bestseller "The Art of Racing in the Rain" was well-received by most readers but
disliked by others. When making such a choice, most people first come to a realization after
reading the book or learning about it from a third party, then they make assumptions and
evaluate those assumptions in light of their own values and ideals. In the novel, readers will
learn through many characters how an individual’s decision-making is dependent on their
values, beliefs, and emotions at that moment.
Fear. A base emotion. Garth Stein consistently developed on how fear can plague the mind,
altering decision-making from logical to desperate. It has a powerful tendency to push people
to take actions they would never take in a different lifetime. A zebra is repeatedly mentioned by
the author throughout the book. It was used as a symbol, like a bad omen. The most notable
instance occurred when Denny was on the fence about signing a set of documents that would
permanently release his daughter Zoë to his wife's parents, or what Enzo refers to as the "twins"
(from his perspective). He was afraid that he wasn't a good enough father and that he didn't
have enough money to support her. The pen that would be used to sign the documents had a
zebra on it, something Enzo noticed. “I looked closer. The top of the pen. A little plastic
savannah. The sliding thing? A zebra. When Denny tipped the pen, the zebra slid across the
plastic savannah. The zebra is everywhere. I suddenly realized. The zebra. It is not something
outside of us. The zebra is something inside of us. Our fears. Our own self-destructive nature.
The zebra is the worst part of us when we are face-to-face with our worst times. The demon is
us! " (pg 246) The zebra, striped black and white like a prison suit, is a symbol of personal
demons and fears that plague the mind and influence decisions. Thankfully, Enzo impulsively
stole the forms and urinated on them, rendering them unsignable unless new ones were
printed. Enzo reasoned that signing the forms wasn't what Denny wanted to do, simply him
being affected by personal demons and trying desperate measures to get rid of them. Despite his
unwavering love for her, fear nearly drove him to sign his daughter away from him.
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