The Cypress House by Eira Morrison https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0 By: Michael Koryta en-us 2017-03-27 17:22:02 UTC 2025-10-25 21:29:40 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Carfront.png Song 1 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/162901351 One of the songs I chose for the book i am reading is Hotel California by the Eagles. I chose this song because I feel as though the book and the song are very similar except the song is in California and the book is in Florida. A main similarity is the Cypress House is an inn for passing travelers to fish and enjoy the hot Florida weather and the song is about a hotel in California and an inn and hotel are similar. A lot of the lyrics are very similar to the story line of the book and the song. For example, the house is very secluded and  the house is in the middle of no where on a dark road. In the song it says "on a dark desert highway." Another similarity is when Arlen and Paul are trying to find a place to stay and they see headlights roll up to give them a ride and in the song it says "up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim. I had to stop for the night." After they got a ride they stayed at the Cypress House because "they had to stop for the night" After they got there that's where they met Rebecca. Another lyric that is similar is "as she stood in the doorway" this relates because when they had first met Rebecca she stood in a doorway and Paul fell in love with her. He thought she was so beautiful even  though she was much older than him. Those are the similarties i had found in this song.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFi2ZM_7FnM]]> 2017-03-27 17:28:25 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/162901351 Song 2 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/162909685 The other song I had chosen for this is Riptide by Vance Joy. One thing i thought was a little funny was when Paul first met Rebecca and how in the song it says "I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations." Paul was really nervous to speak to her. Another similarity the book and song has is when Rebecca strips naked and runs to the water in front of her house and in the song it says "lady running down to the riptide." Another similarity is that Arlen seems to be running from the truth of himself and how he has his special gift. In the song it says "this cowboys running from himself." Those the main similarities I had found in this song.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ_1HMAGb4k]]> 2017-03-27 17:53:57 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/162909685 Setting description 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/162914216 The main setting to the book is in the Cypress House. The house is this big old beach house right out on the beach with beautiful water. The house is very secluded, not many neighbors around. The house was originally made as an inn for passing fishermen but since it is so far from town, not much business goes on there except for what Solomon Wade does there.
The house has a little parking area for the travelers and that takes them off into town. the road is covered in greens and trees and so is the house. Because of all of the coverage from the greens they have a lot of privacy for Solomon to do his dirty work.
]]> 2017-03-27 18:05:44 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/162914216 Character description 1 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163385777 Arlen: Arlen is an older guy maybe in his late 40's early 50's. He has seen a lot in his life. when he was young his mother had died and his father was taking care of him with the family business. His father worked as a coffin maker for funerals. Arlen was a very curious kid and still is always curious but when he was little he would always listen through the floor boards at his house because his father would always be speaking to someone. Arlens father had a gift just as he did. When his father tried to force Arlen to give into his gift he revolted and in doing so his father was killed.
Ever since that whole incident Arlen has never returned home and went into the war joining the CCC. This is really bad for Arlen because his gift is that he is able to see when someone is about to die. Their eyes swirl into smoke, their skin rips away and all you see is the bones of the people he sees. Arlen is a very stubborn man and when his father tried helping him with the gift Arlen was terrified of becoming like his father because he though he was crazy ]]> 2017-03-29 12:02:07 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163385777 Character description 2 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163389111 Rebecca: Rebecca is a very quiet kind of person, likes to keep to herself. She is one to be very upfront and honest with people except with what Solomon is doing on her property, she tells no one. She's this taller women with beautiful blue eyes and blonde hair. She wears this long white dress everyday. And is very strong and holds a lot of emotion in.
She has gone through a similar situation with her parents except she's not an only child. Her mother passed away when she was younger too. Her father was also murdered by Solomon Wade the day he was going to run from all of that. He was going to take her and her brother and run very far away and never get back into stuff like that again, putting his whole family in danger. Rebecca is very upset about everything that went down and now is planning to run again with her brother and with the help of Arlen and Paul.]]> 2017-03-29 12:15:45 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163389111 Character description 3 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163393138 Paul: Paul is a younger and more enthusiastic kind of person especially compared to Arlen.Like Arlen, Paul joined the military too in the CCC. Paul hates having a little scruff from his beard because he looks a lot like his father. Paul absolutely hates his father and wants nothing to do with him. Paul has a gift as well. It may not be as supernatural as Arlens is but he can look at a house and a piece of wood and tell you the exact measurements of the entire thing and have it cut perfectly. 

Paul is in love with Rebecca but he is a little young for her. one night Arlen saw the death in Paul and was trying everything he possibly could so Paul would leave and live, Paul is very stubborn. Arlen and Rebecca had been getting close and so Arlen did things with her one night so Paul could hear. Paul definitely heard everything and freaked out and was just gone the next morning. Now Paul hates Arlen and can't even look Rebecca in the face. Paul is also getting mixed up with Solomon Wade and now he is really running right into a death trap.]]> 2017-03-29 12:30:35 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163393138 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163398662 2017-03-29 12:48:30 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163398662 Conflict 1 the train 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163499790 One major conflict is in the beginning of the book when they are on the train. Arlen and Paul met each other on the train because they were both in the CCC (The Civilian Conservation Corps) during the end of the war when they were looking for work. All of the men on that train were headed to the keys to work in a mine. As they were getting closer and closer Arlens gift began to kick in and he saw everyone on that train turn to skeletons. 
Finally the train came to a stop for a bit and as soon as everyone got off the death in everyone disappeared. This is where Arlen and Paul met. Paul believed Arlen when he said everyone was going to die on that train. After a huge hurricane hit all of the people on that train were dead. The good thing for both Arlen and Paul was that they are now not dead but because of the train and the storm now they are stuck at The Cypress House where everything bad began.]]> 2017-03-29 17:30:16 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163499790 Conflict 2 the house 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163507335 2017-03-29 17:53:05 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163507335 The Cypress House 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163508571
]]> 2017-03-29 17:56:44 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163508571 Symbols 208216 https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163509855 Money is a symbol because this whole thing with Solomon Wade is about money.
The symbol of a ghost because a lot of supernatural things go on in this book especially with Arlen and his gift of death.
The symbol of friendship because three people from completely different lives were brought together as friends through some crazy experiences.
]]> 2017-03-29 18:00:27 UTC https://padlet.com/208216/9l38a4bx8iv0/wish/163509855