English final exam: Stories on final1. Roth, conversion of the Jews2. Evans, Snakes3. Colville, Am I Blue4. Alexei, Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian5. French, The LikenessAuthors for storiesSnakes- EvansConversion of the Jews- RothAm I Blue- ColvilleAbsolutely True Diary- AlexieThe Likeness- Tana French Characters:Conversion of the Jews: itzie, ozzie freedmanSnakes: Allison, Amanda, tara, LydiaAm I blue: Melvin, butchIndian: junior (Arnold), rowdy, Penelope, roger, Mr. PThe Likeness: Lexie (cassia), frank, sam, abby, justin, Daniel, rafeSummaries:“Conversion of the Jews”Roth uses the character of Oscar Freedman to show that religious dogma left unchallenged or unquestioned is not the same as spiritual devotion. Oscar is spiritually devoted. He believes in the infinite power of God. The rabbi, the crowd, and Ozzie's mother are dogmatic. They believe in only what they have been taught about God without questioning or exploring the idea further. By giving Oscar the last name Freedman, Roth is expressing his personal belief thatspiritual exploration correlates to freedom.Questioning faith and curiosityBringing together a community for a boy who is determined to know moreEvans, “Snakes”Young cousins- Allison and Tara Grandmother- LydiaGirls go to stay w/ grandmother but she favors Allison b/c tara is black and adoptedGrandmother does not have a close relationship with Amanda (taras mom) so tara isbasically used as an indirect way to connect the two b/c they do not know who to communicate with each other anymoreSoon clear that Lydia deeply misses Amanda and resents her for always running away- she fears losing tara tooTara becomes distant after Allison grows mad that tara will no longer go outside b/cshe is afraid of the snake story told by grandma only to keep her closeThe 2 grow apart and then tara has an accident which is placed on Allison- who laterattempt suicide when we learn that all along tara tried to jumpCoville “Am I Blue”Young adult questioning of sexual curiosity; who are you reallyMain character is bullied for “being gay” when all he did was look at the other boy and after he is knocked out he is presented with a fairy godfather-Melvin who is there to teach him the differences in being gay and curious and just how normal it isThe “gaydar” shows different shades of blue as the strength of gayMore blue=more gay; most people have at least some shade of blue- including himPoliticians and important men are all shades (even dark) showing the hypocrisy; even his dad (which he is confused how he feels about)In the end the bully, Butch, is the bluest of all- showing the defense put up for not accepting himself and showing it is okay to be you“Absolutely True diary of a part-time Indian”Story of Junior (Arnold) living on a reservation where he feels he can go fartherLeaves behind tradition and makes risks to go to the bigger/white school and chase his dreams of leaving- even disappointing his only friend rowdy and his parentsHas a hard time at first then makes himself known by standing up the the bully on campus, gaining respect- bully is Roger who he becomes friends with, especially after making varsity basketballFalls for a girl named Penelope, who shows him no attention at first then comes around when he shows he cares for her and her eating disorder- all she needed was someone there Goes to his teacher Mr. P for advice on what to do; he always stands up to his teacher but he also gets the best advice from him and he is who encourages him to follow what he thinks is best, which is not get stuck Eventually gains back the respect of his home family and best friend rowdy in the end who said he always knew rowdy would go father than the rez.; Indians may be not be nomadic anymore but “junior always was”“The Likeness”murder mystery story of a detective, Cassie, who used an undercover name when she was working named “Lexie Madison”years later, her old boss, Frank, calls her to a case on a murdered girl who held the ID of Lexie… Cassie is faced with the decision to return to her old work after a bad case and refusing to be done- her boyfriend Sam does not want her to go backshe does, but only for lexie and because she feels responsible for her death in some way and needs to know what happenedshe stays in the house undercover with Lexies roommates- Abby, Rafe, Justin and Daniel- there she learns all about these 4 people and there connections to Lexie she begins to learn that the house was of extreme importance to all of them- especially Daniel whose family owned the house- and were also shunned from society as the baby killersshe deals with many struggles, especially with Sam who wants her to come home and a confusing relationship with Daniellexie was pregnant when she died we learn the father is Rafe (who was sleeping with Justin just to get things from him) Justin is the one who killed lexie by stabbing her in heat of the moment and Daniel took the blame before allowing himself to be shotLexie was trying to move on again and sell the house- the others were upsetLexie had child neglect after she found out her mother died in child birth- ever since then she constantly ran when she felt stuck and always changed