
A Google user
Death by Landscape is a wonderful story. Margaret Atwood tells the story of a young girl named Lois, her childhood and adventures growing up with her dear friend Lucy. The author describes the camp with such detail expression that you almost think you where there. This story will take you on a journey on how these two young girls grow up spending their summers at camp Manitou.
The way the story was told allows you to paint a vivid picture in your mind of this camp, their adventures and even the people that attend the camp with them each summer. Lois at first never liked going to the camp, that is until she met Lucy and they became best friends so close that if you seen one the other was close by. They confided in each other keeping secrets doing all the things that best friends do. Every year that they came to camp they grow closer and closer inseparable to a degree that you learn how they are different based on their families and where they grow up, also learning that the camp was there way of escaping the problems that they faced when they were not at camp. Like how Lucy's life was complicated compared to Lois's. You learn how disappointing Lucy's life becomes each summer. Lucy's parents’ divorced, and remarried her mother was not very loyal to her stepfather she was cheating on him, and it was affecting Lucy to me I think that is why she acted the way she did because of what she was seeing every day at home. Lucy hated Chicago and her new family members that lived with her.
Lois was the more the responsible one because to me Lois seems to be the rich kid that is always put off with someone else. The two girls attitudes where so different, that one could say that Lucy was the wild one and acted out more than Lois. Everything at camp was not enjoyable to the girls like the songs they had to sing. Lois hated the singing of the songs that Kip always made them sing, because people did not sing the songs, it was more like bellowing.
Lois had her opinion about the camp leaders and looked at them in totally different ways, she saw kip as the no-nonsense one and always on them about something they needed to do and Pat is easier to wheedle, or fool. Even though she had felt this way about them she still respected them as the elder of the camp (Atwood 2009 PG.30).
Lois felt this way about kip because he always Like making sure everyone was singing “The quartermaster’s store” and “My Darling Clementine, “and ”Alouette” which no one wanted to sing, and those where the songs that was sung in the canoes headed to campsites. Pat was easy going and easier to talk to, in some ways she was the voice of reason or the opposite of kip.
Lois is the watch minder because she is very responsible of what time things needs to be done and being at place on time. Lois is always reminding Lucy of the time because Lucy tends to be carless of time. (Atwood 2009 PG.32) Lucy was one who would walk on the edge or wild side of things which was not like Lois who is always conscious of her time and playing it safe. To a certain degree they see things the same way but approached them in totally different ways. For example they both walked up to the edge of the cliff but only Lucy was the one pushing the envelope on how far to take it. So it seems they both needed each other to have the courage to do what they wanted to do just with two different styles in doing it. Lois is in some ways wanting to be like Lucy wild and carless, where as Lucy wants to be like Lois responsible and conscious of her action that is why they are good friends because they give each other the side of life that they really want themselves.
After Lois and her friend, Lucy, went up the hill to look at the scenery from up high on the cliff. Lucy has to use the bathroom and asked Lois if she had some toilet paper and as always Lois was prepared. Lois went down the hill to give Lucy some privacy so she could find a place to pee, Lois thought she heard a noise but was not sure because at the same time there was a loud screams from