|
|
Post by veryferociousdrama on Mar 23, 2019 2:46:46 GMT -5
Sorry for the delay, I've been busy this week, but here we go!
Notes on Chapters One to Six.
The fake book descriptions sound like what Handler has said he hates. Is Lemony making up these descriptions, or getting them from books in the Snicketverse?
So they're getting the train to Paltryville. In the Netflix series they seem to drive everywhere, so it's nice to see them reduce their carbon footprints. Also, here Poe sounds more like Show Poe than Movie Poe.
So why are the Baudelaires going to live at Lucky Smells? Presuming Sir's a relative, two possibilities. One is that he's just a distant cousin. Another is that it's actually Charles who's the relative, and Sir just took over. We know Chas Snicket, and the Snicket tradition of naming babies after the dead? Charles could be from A or B's side, and connected to the Baudelaires through the Antwhisles. The only problem with this is that I doubt he's a Volunteer, but he could just be oblivious to his relatives' activities, but still sends pieces of information to Kit. Snicket could be his unknown surname.
Dr. Orwell's eye-shaped building is hardly subtle. The fact that Paltryville is so abandoned is maybe due to a fire or other Schism related event.
Fourteen years since the last employee came to Lucky Smells. Maybe, if there was a fire like in the Netflix series, it occurred just before Violet was born, and nobody wanted to return to the area? Phil and the other workers may have nowhere else to go, or forgotten their pasts.
So Olaf and Baldy are in Paltryville already, but it takes a long time for the Baudelaires to see Olaf. Maybe he wants them to be observed while he thinks of a plan?
Where is Sir getting all the coupons and gum from? Presumably at a cheap price.
So the Baudelaires have been at Lucky Smells for presumably more than twelve hours, and if he lives in the house with Sir, why is Charles asking if the Baudelaires have been at the mill? Surely he'd known if they had been at the house.
Is this the only time Justice Strauss is mentioned until TPP? She just seems to be forgotten about. Why didn't they ask to visit her when they were with Jerome, who took them out a lot?
Timeline wise, it appears to me that the process of the lumber takes about three weeks, but I agree with previous theories that the Baudelaires have been there for two cycles, so six weeks. But then Charles says the workers got beef jurkey coupons the previous week. Do different people get different coupons?
Nobody seems to have met Dr. Orwell before, unlike in the Netflix series when everybody is being hypnotized by her. Has nobody needed an eye doctor in fourteen years? Unless she's wiping their memories when hypnotizing them.
Did it take a very long time for her to hypnotize Klaus? Sure sounds like it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Carrie E. Abelabudite on Mar 23, 2019 9:54:17 GMT -5
In the final ATWQ, Ghede and Gifford tell Snicket Beatrice and Olaf are working together. But this is maybe before Olaf defects? I would imagine he is still on the volunteer side of the schism during ATWQ. He might have started targeting Beatrice as a form of revenge after she and Bertrand killed his parents. Sometimes I feel like Handler forgets how old Violet is, in terms of things a fourteen-year-old should be capable of doing, or how an adult would think of one. It also seems like the warning in TEE about not using an oven unsupervised is a mock-didactic feature of the book, akin to his 'don't steal a sailboat' bit in TWW or the page of 'ever's in TRR, though it's maybe not the most successful example of this, since IIRC it's Violet who says she shouldn't be allowed near a stove without an adult nearby. In-story, I guess we could say that VFD members get very twitchy about letting their children near anything that could end up causing a fire, although Violet and Klaus were apparently allowed to use kitchen appliances in the Baudelaire mansion, judging from the scene in TBB where they burn the toast. Klaus' opinion of Violet as someone who can't cook seems to be drawn from a larger frame of reference than just that one incident, although her parents can't and probably wouldn't want to have asked her to cook regularly if she had a reputation for burning things. In the scene I was referencing from TBB, it's Justice Strauss who remarks on the cooking, and she focuses more on the amount they would have to cook rather than the cooking itself. This seems reasonable; I think it would have been fine for Olaf to ask Violet and Klaus to cook for the four of them, but getting them to do it for thirteen people, especially when he didn't plan to hang around the house during the process to be on hand in case anything went wrong, does seem like he's asking a lot of them. This is true of many of the jobs he sets for the Baudelaires, where they are essentially renovating his house from its extremely dilapidated state and have to do things that could be very unsafe like washing the windows (presumably including ones on upper storeys) and chopping wood when he wasn't even at the house to supervise. Still, I think it is a bit hyperbolic for Violet to want to call him an 'evil man' if she were not so well-mannered. That really only becomes an accurate way to describe Olaf during and after the puttanesca incident. The fake book descriptions sound like what Handler has said he hates. Is Lemony making up these descriptions, or getting them from books in the Snicketverse? I thought they seemed more hypothetical, but I guess it's possible they're real books - maybe even ones Lemony himself has written in the vein of The Littlest Elf or The Pony Party.Based on everything Mr Poe says, it sounds like Sir, and not Charles, is the Baudelaires' guardian. This is supported by the way Charles is not allowed to let the Baudelaires live in the house, but based on the nature of their relationship, I guess it is possible that even if they were joint guardians or Charles were the guardian, Sir could still talk him into letting them live in dorm and work at the mill. TPP makes it seem like Charles is a volunteer, but one that was recently recruited. At this point, he and Sir are probably aware the organisation exists but don't really know anything about it, except it uses their lumber. If Poe also knows VFD exists and assumes the Baudelaires are in the process of undergoing training and picks guardians accordingly, even if he doesn't know anything else about the organisation, it makes slightly more sense that he might choose Sir; it's possible he's aware of the Lucky Smells/VFD connection and thinks Sir is a full-fledged member, even though this turns out not to be the case. He definitely didn't seem to be aware in advance that Sir expected the children to work at the mill. This does seem to be the case, but maybe that's the norm for hypnotism. Chapter Ten
'She knew - or she thought she knew, anyway, because she was actually wrong - that the only thing in disguise was Count Olaf.' (p130) If you haven't guessed already, this should reveal Flacutono's true identity. '"Good night, Susan."' (p131) The Daily Punctilio calls Sunny 'Susie', not 'Susan', right? I'm trying to see if all the fake names they use come up before TVV - we've already had 'Omar' and 'Veronica'. Charles actually isn't unwilling to stand up to Sir - at least to an extent - it's more that Sir just doesn't listen to him. In this way, he is somewhat different to Jerome and Hector. '"Sir would get mad at me, and we can't have that."' (p138) On the other hand, he won't argue with Sir enough to be of any tangible help to the Baudelaires. Chapter Eleven
'Klaus would probably examine the table of contents first,' (p145) Not necessarily. In TWW, Violet is the one who thinks of looking in the index of the atlas to find Curdled Cave. Why is the introduction of Advanced Ocular Science so long? And why is the chapter on sunglasses only one page? Ever since I first read this book, I've always used Violet's method of skipping over words I don't understand and guessing meaning based on context. |
|
|
|
Post by veryferociousdrama on Mar 24, 2019 5:22:41 GMT -5
RE Charles being a member of VFD, I don't think he is one, because when Dewey is listing adults who joined VFD in TPP, and they ask about Charles, he merely says that he cares about them. Maybe he was invited to join but he rejected? Though I do agree that they're aware of the organization, as I believe all of the guardians who aren't members (Nero, maybe Hal, Bruce) are aware of it.
Notes on Chapters Seven to Thirteen.
Who exactly are the Lucky Smells employees making wood for? I swear in TPP Charles says their last big order was a VFD mansion, which presumably would have been a long time ago. Stamping the logo is a very bad business idea.
How exactly would a cast help Phil if his foot's been chopped off? I also find it amusing how coupons work that way in the Snicketverse. The fact that none of the workers save Phil are never named is presumably because Lemony could never track them.
I've just had an idea regarding the book in the Baudelaire library. Are they all on subjects somehow connected to VFD? I also find it surprising that Violet says she and Sunny read a lot, because it seems they haven't read anything, save the atlas, since the fire. And I doubt Sunny's old enough to read.
This appears to be the first mention of Lemony and Beatrice's story connecting with the Baudelaires. The fact that Beatrice asked where Count Olaf seems that he was somehow involved in the Baudelaire fire, and that Lemony was about to hear her say it. Unless she survived the fire and died some other time, which isn't implausible.
OK, so this is why I don't think Count Olaf started the Baudelaire fire. He lacks subtly, and he's evidently proud of his wrong-doings, so I can imagine him gloating about it.
Did it never occur to Olaf and Orwell to hypnotize all three Baudelaires, making Violet and Sunny have an eye test at the same time? It would certainly make their lives easier. They're more or less in Olaf's clutches here, he could have just kidnapped them.
So Sir can just give the Baudelaires away to Shirley? There's a chance, of course, that he just thinks he can. It's also refreshing to see Charles believe the Baudelaires, is he the only guardian that does until Hector?
Despite this book being the least favourite of the majority, it's interesting how they're shaking up the format a tad. But did Orwell write this book herself? If she is a Villain, I think she probably wrote this book in her past Volunteer days.
So did Baldy get Klaus from the dormitory? I'm not sure how he could have done that without arousing suspicion. They may as well have done it in the day, nobody at Lucky Smells is that bright or observant.
Why do Orwell and Olaf just randomly show up? They're just blowing their cover! If I'm honest, I'm not surprised the Sinister Duo are so disappointed with Olaf later on.
Sunny's teeth must be made of very strong stuff if she can have a full on sword fight with her teeth. One of the great losses of the Netflix series.
If it's only about twenty-four hours since Phil's accident, why did Sir make him guard Olaf and Baldy? More mistreatment. Phil reads the consitution, leaves Lucky Smells and somehow becomes a Volunteer. Did Jacques recruit him on his trip to Paltryville? He doesn't really show many Volunteer-like characteristics, but maybe they believe his skills here show he has potential?
One surprising think about this book is that it has two "kind" people in. "Kind" people as in Justice Strauss, Uncle Monty, Aunt Josephine, Duncan, Isadora, Jerome, Hector, Hal, Quigley, Dewey, Friday, Kit. I suppose I've just demonstrated that in some other books this is the case, but here's the first.
|
|
|
|
Post by Carrie E. Abelabudite on Mar 24, 2019 10:24:44 GMT -5
RE Charles being a member of VFD, I don't think he is one, because when Dewey is listing adults who joined VFD in TPP, and they ask about Charles, he merely says that he cares about them. Maybe he was invited to join but he rejected? Though I do agree that they're aware of the organization, as I believe all of the guardians who aren't members (Nero, maybe Hal, Bruce) are aware of it. I guess I was thinking he was one because Kit seems to be in contact with him at the beginning of TPP - I think she even states that he is giving her blueprints, which seems like it could be part of some VFD-related activity. Still, I suppose it's possible she's talking about another volunteer named Charles, or else she and Charles are friends independently of VFD, and he's giving her blueprints for a more innocent reason. Maybe they've just had lots of small orders since then, or else they continue to produce lumber even if no one is buying it. The discussion Sir and Charles have about Lucky Smells in TPP is odd, because they complain about not having enough business, but then they talk about Finite Forest running low on trees, which seems like a separate issue and one that would be caused by them having to produce lumber for too many orders. I don't think he did either, but I think Handler probably intended him to at this point in the series.It would have been easier, but maybe more suspicious. Klaus, as someone who wears glasses, would often need to go to an eye-doctor anyway, and there's an easy way to make sure he will have to. While Violet and Sunny probably should get their eyes checked sometimes, it would be difficult to get Sir to see this as a necessity when they could work at the mill perfectly well without having had an eye test, and going to get one would mean missing out on almost a whole day there. Olaf, it seems, wants to legally become the Baudelaires' guardian and get the fortune that way, at least for now. It seems that he can - I guess, as their guardian, he has the power to appoint another guardian if he so chooses. Jerome also comes close to believing the children - he does accuse them of being xenophobic, but he asks Esme to check Gunther's ankle. Chapter Twelve
'"We're going to split the money fifty-fifty."' (p163) That's surprisingly generous of Olaf. I wonder if he isn't secretly planning a way to get it all himself. '"After expenses, Georgina,"' Shirley reminded her.' (p163) What expenses? How could the gum stretch out so much? I guess I've always imagined Klaus throwing the entire debarker, but that's not actually what happens. 'Gathering up all of his strength - and, after working at a lumbermill for a while, he actually had quite a bit of strength for a young boy - he grabbed his invention, and pulled.' (p174) Klaus' strength feels pretty believable here, it's the gum's that is really difficult to imagine. '"I do believe," she said, cackling, "that there will be an accident at Lucky Smells Lumbermill after all!"' (p175) How could Orwell be planning to pass off running a baby through with a swords as an accident? Chapter Thirteen
'"I canceled several important appointments and took the first available train to Paltryville, in order to handle this matter personally."' (p177-8) Wow, that's got to be a first for Poe. Again, Charles is willing to ask Sir about seeing Shirley, even if he does so 'timidly' (p180). And he protests against Sir's assessment that '"Wherever these Baudelaires go, misfortune follows"' (p189). As with earlier, Sir won't listen. 'I'm sorry to tell you that the orphans were wrong about boarding school being better,' (p190) Their experience at Prufrock wasn't great, but it must have been more enjoyable than working at Lucky Smells. Timeline notes: I'd say the Baudelaires were at the mill for a month without anything happening. Then there's the day Klaus breaks his glasses and gets hypnotised, the day he breaks the machine and gets re-hypnotised, and the day Dr Orwell dies and Mr Poe comes back. Adding on a visit to the Poes' house before the book begins, and I'd say that seven weeks have elapsed between the end of TWW and here. That means that so far, with my timeline, the entire span of the series has been nineteen weeks - so four and a half-ish months. To My Kind Editor
This is where the editor letters start to physically resemble a characteristic of the next book, which I really enjoy. 'There you should find my description of the children's miserable half-semester at boarding school,' How long were the Baudelaires at the school, and how long would a semester be at Prufrock? More on that next week. 'the (worthless) jewel from Coach Genghis's turban.' It should be possible to guess, based on this, what Olaf's next disguise will be. |
|
