You Belong To Me

FIRST ENTRY:(from page 1-100) The suspense novel, You Belong to Me, by

Mary Higgins Clark, begins by easily catching my interest as it automatically

discusses its first conflict. It's setting falls in October in the very busy city of

New York. The protagonist, Dr. Susan Chandler, is a young clinical psychologist

who hosts a radio talk show. The conflict starts on a Monday when Dr. Chandler

discusses on her show about lonely women who disappear and who are later

discovered dead. Dr. Chandler brings up one specific case of a lady named

Regina Clausen. Another lady calls in the show and says she might have some

information that might be useful to the case, but she wants to remain

anonymous. Dr. Chandler tries to arrange a meeting with her, but the

anonymous woman is a little hesitant in agreeing to the arrangement. Not even

a few hours later, the woman is shoved into a bus and is seriously injured. The

only witness that saw her get pushed is mysteriously murdered the next day.

Dr. Chandler starts following the case, but every time she goes to talk to

someone that might be able to give her some information, they are already

dead. This beginning conflict filled with mystery and suspense lures me to keep

reading and I realize I cannot stop turning the novel's pages. Also, as I was

reading, I noticed an object that has been frequently mentioned: a souvenir

turquoise ring with the inscription "you belong to me" written in it. This souvenir

ring has been Dr. Chandler's one and only clue to the mysterious deaths of

Regina Clausen and the witness, and the critical injury of the mysterious woman

on the talk show. Dr. Chandler has been told that the unique ring was given to

Regina Clausen on a cruise ship she was on before she mysteriously died. An

identical ring was also given to the mysterious woman on the radio show who

says that it was also given to her on a cruise ship. The woman says a man she

met on the ship gave it to her; a man she was about to get off the ship and

elope with. Dr. Chandler believes that the man who gave the ring to the

anonymous woman is the same man who gave an identical ring to Regina

Clausen, and this same man is the man that murdered Regina Clausen. The

turquoise ring being mentioned is an obvious symbol of something in the novel.

Right now, I think the ring could be a symbol of death, but it's too early in the

novel to make that assumption. I feel there is a strong connection between Dr.

Susan Chandler and I. Dr. Susan Chandler lives a very personal life, but also has

an occupation that she holds very important to her. She has an older sister and

divorced parents who all love her dearly, although there are daily family

dilemmas she must deal with. Dr. Chandler copes with her personal problems in

a way that inspires me to face and deal with my problems the same way. She

does what she loves to do and doesn't let anyone get in the way of her

aspirations. Dr. Chandler is the ideal person I wish to become, and I feel that

the more I understand her character, the bigger chance I have in becoming the

type of person I wish to become.SECOND ENTRY:(from page

100-199)LanguageThe writing style Mary Higgins Clark uses is what really shined

in this book. She uses such vivid wording, which is significant to unsolving the

mystery. I love how she packs tons of figurative language and detail into every

paragraph. Below are just a few of the thousands of vividly effective phrases in

Clark's novel:"She loved the mix of turn-of-the-century townhouses on quiet

streets, and the traffic-filled main arteries that suddenly twisted or changed

direction like streams wandering through mountains." (page 105) Just in this

one quote, it shows how Mary Higgins Clark uses vivid wording, such as details

and similes and metaphors, to let the reader picture the whole scenario as if they

were watching a movie.

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----------------- ' "Tiffany, I wish you'd call me at my office," Susan said

hurriedly, then had a sense of dйjÐo vu. Hadn't she spoken those same words to

Carolyn Wells forty-eight hours earlier? ' (page 134) Carolyn Wells was the

anonymous woman on the radio show Susan talked to right before she was

pushed into a bus and almost died. This foreshadows Tiffany's death, because

Carolyn's near-death started as those same exact words were spoken to

her.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------"...he had heard the story of a woman who confessed to

spreading scandal and was

...