Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Conrad's Fate ~Diana Wynne Jones

Conrad's Fate is about a young boy named Conrad, who is told by his miserly that he has bad karma. Conrad's Uncle Alfred tells him that someone at the nearby mansion, Stallery, is the reason for Conrad's bad karma. Uncle Alfred tells Conrad that he was supposed to kill this person in a previous life, so in order to have good karma again, Conrad must kill this person, thus reversing the karma. Therefore, Conrad leaves school, instead of going to upper school, to get a job at Stallery. He is told by the mayor, who has magical abilities, that once he is there, "The person he needs will say or do something...and he'll know" (38). Conrad and another boy his age, Christopher, are both given the job of Improvers. They are being trained to be butlers at Stallery, so for the time they are both staying at Stallery.
As time progresses, Conrad cannot seem to find the person he was sent to look for. Conrad confides in Christopher that he has bad karma, in hopes that Christopher will help him look for the person. Christopher dismisses Conrad's karma, saying that Conrad does not have any bad karma. He claims that he can sense no bad karma on Conrad. Although Christopher admits that there is something bad going on at Stallery, but he will not say what. Then Conrad notices Christopher sneaking out at night and catches him in the act. Conrad sneaks after Christopher to confront him, but when he catches up, something shakes the entire building. When the shaking stops, they are no longer in Stallery, they are on the roof of another decrepit building. Christopher and Conrad then devise that the shift was caused by the quaking from moments before and that the shaking was not natural. While they are trying to find their way back, Christopher explains that his friend Millie had gotten lost somewhere near Stallery and that the shift must be why he could not find her.
After the two get back, there are more shifts, but they do not get transported each time. They find that only one place in Stallery is where the shifts are the strongest, which was why they ended up somewhere else. After searching all of Stallery, they find the machine causing the shifts in the wine cellar. The shifts are being caused by Mr. Amos to shift the "probabilities" into more profitable chances.
The shifts are getting more frequent every day and Millie is nowhere to be found. At this point, Christopher is tired of waiting and wants to fake sick in order to get out of work, so he can look for Millie during the daytime. He tells Conrad, "Cover up for me...by saying I'm ill. Pretend I'm up here covered in green and yellow spots" (227). This leaves Conrad with double the work and he often gets blamed for the results of the shifts, which often move chairs or change foods. After days, Christopher has not returned at all, which leaves Conrad to wonder if Christopher got stuck in one of the other probabilities. He has to decide if he should go off to bring Christopher back, or stay at Stallery and not get into trouble.

1. If you had a friend that was lost in another world, would you go after them, even if it was very risky to yourself? Or would you leave them to find their own way back?
2. If you had the ability to change the "probabilities" of the world to your favor, would you do it?

17 comments:

Sarah N. 7-8 said...

1. I think that I would try and find my close friend if they were lost in another world. I think that it is always better to look out for people who are close to you.

2. It depends on the situation. I thin that most people would like to change the probabilities in their favor. However, it could be dangerous or cause problems if you were always changing the probabilities.

AnaleeL7-8 said...

1) It depends on how close I was with the friend. If it was a best friend I would try my best no matter how risky it may be.

Abby M. 1-2 said...

1. It's hard to say because all my friends have always stayed in this world (as far as I know). But anyway I think that true friendship is a powerful thing, and friends need to be there for eachother and help eachother. I would hope I would have the courage to go and try to help my friend, no matter if I was going to get in trouble.

Sara D. 7-8 said...

2) I agree with Sarah it could be dangerous. Also, it would not be fair for everyone else that I can make life better for myself when so many others are suffering. For that reason, I would try to ignore it and not use it.

Nicole H. 7-8 said...

1). I agree, if my best friend was lost in another world I would risk everything to find them and save them. If it was someone I am not very close to, I do not know if I would go rescue them, but I hope I would try.

Laura P 7-8 said...

1.) I also agree, I would do everything in my power to save one of my best friends if they were stuck in another world, regardless of the risks involved.

jessica b 1/2 said...

1. Like everyone else, if it was my best friend i would do my best to save them, no matter the risks for me.

Hannah J. 7-8 said...

1. i would go after my friend, because they are special and i wouldnt wantto loose them.
2. no i wouldnt change the probablities because that wouldnt be fair and most things happen for a reason.

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

1) If my friend was lost in another world, I would try to save them because I care about my friends. I do not know exactly what I would do because none of my friends have ever been in another world.

Ashley B. 1-2 said...

2) I agree with Hannah that normally things happen for a reason and I too would not change the probabilities in my favor even if it made like easier. It just is not right or fair.

Josie D 7/8 said...

Sarah N. I agree. I would want to go after my friend and make sure they were safe, rather than only look out for myself.

Josie D 7/8 said...

Hannah J. I agree with you about the probabilities. I feel that things happen for a reason as well, and that it is none of my business to change those things.

Kyle N.1-2 said...

I don't know what I would do if my friend was in another world, it's never happened to me before (unless if the world ended and I didnt know it :). But friendships are important and I would sacrifice for my friends

Millie W. 7/8 said...

I'm lost D=
1) I would go after my friends, because I believe that the friendships I have now are worth keeping. However I think I would go after the person no matter what because it would be kind of cruel if you knew you could help the person and you didn't.

Adam B. 7-8 said...

1. If I had a friend trapped in another world I would probably go and find them.

Heather B. 1-2 said...

1.) I think it depends on how close I was to the friend. If it were one of my closest friends, then I think I would go after him/her no matter what the risk. But if we were not that close, I might hesitate and take more time to examine the risks.

2.) I'm a strong believer in the idea that everything happens for a reason. I have the feeling that if I tried to change events in my favor, the benefits would not outweigh the damages in the long run.

Anna W. 1-2 said...

1. I would definatley try to find my friend if they were lost in another world. I think that would be the most loyal thing to do in a friendship, even if is dangerous to your ownself.

2. I don't think I would change the probabilities of the world for my favor,because that is kind of unilateral. I would want something to benefit everyone. I also agree with Sarah when she says it could cause problems if you were always changing it to benefit you.