The devil wears Prada

Journal 1
Page 1 - 95

Why did you select this novel?
I selected this novel because a friend recommended this novel to me. I think it’s interesting to read about someone who works in the fashion industry because it’s a totally different world.
Fashion is a pretty interesting theme because it changes every season. I thought that it would be fun to read this novel.

What information did you need to know before reading the novel?
Before reading the novel you needed to know something about fashion and popular but expensive brands like Chanel and Versace. If you have never heard of this, sometimes it could be difficult to understand the whole story.

What is going on as the story begins?
The story begins with a flash forward. Andrea, the main character, is stuck in the traffic of New York City. Her boss Miranda is not clear about what she wants Andrea to do. Andrea is driving in the Porsche of Miranda but she doesn’t know exactly what to do with it. At the same Miranda calls on her cell phone. Andrea has to pick up Madeline but she doesn’t know who Madeline is, where she can find her and where she has to bring her. Andrea is afraid that she’s going to get fired. The beginning of the story already tells you that working for the editor of Runway magazine, is really hard. Andrea has to work hard if she doesn’t want to get fired.

Who is telling the story?
The main character, Andrea Sachs, tells the story. I think this is a good thing because you look at the events through her eyes. You come to know how hard the job is and how Andrea experiences this. She tells you that this job where million girls would die for has things that are not so pleasant too.

What is the setting of the novel? Is the setting important or could the novel setting be happening anywhere? Why?
The setting of the novel is New York City. This is quite important because New York is an important city for the fashion industry. It’s logical that fashion magazines settle their office there. A lot of important fashion brands come from New York and New York is known as a city of fashion. I think there are not that many cities in the USA were this is so important. The most events happen in the Elias-Clark building. That’s the building where Runway has settled.

What is the initial or first problem faced by the main character? The first working weeks for Andrea are not that easy. Andrea doesn’t know anything about how things are going at the editorial office of a fashion magazine. The first task for Andrea is to get a skirt and send it to the place where her boss Miranda is gone on vacation. You’ll think that this is easy done but that’s not true at all. Miranda isn’t very clear about what she wants. She didn’t tell Andrea and Emily (the other assistant) what kind of skirt she wants and where they have to get it. Emily has already worked a year for Miranda so she knows how to deal with this. She sends Andrea to some places to pick up some skirts and eventually Emily chooses the right one. This task was done successfully and Andrea is glad. But she realizes that is was only the first task. There would be tasks that are even more difficult.

How does the author get you to read on or hold your interest?
The author holds my interest because fashion is not really something where I used to read about. It’s a totally different subject and I like it. The live that Andrea has is really different than mine so that gets me to read on. If you read further, the story gets more interesting. You read about positive and negatives things in the world of fashion and designers. You read about all kinds of different problems so the novel doesn’t get boring. You really want to know what will happen next so you keep on reading further.
 
Journal 2
Page 1 - 224

What new things are added to the original problem as the novel progresses?
As the novel progresses, Andrea gets more difficult tasks and she has to work very hard. She doesn’t have time anymore for her best friend Lily and her boyfriend Alex. When Andrea isn’t at work, she’s too tired to do something or Miranda suddenly calls her so eventually she’s working again. This causes conflicts between Andrea and her friends. Andrea hates her boss and the fact that everybody at Runway has admiration for Miranda. She even wears expensive clothes from famous designers because some people said she was humiliating herself. All these things don’t make the job easy.

What plot twist or unexpected events happen as the novel goes on?
There weren’t many unexpected events or plot twists but one event was pretty unexpected for me. James had invited Andrea for a party with all kinds of famous designers and celebrities. Brad Pitt, for example, was at the party as well. Andrea decided to go to the party with James. There she met a guy who was absolutely fabulous in her eyes. She actually started to like the fashion industry a bit. This was pretty unexpected because Andrea hated her job and this guy changed her mind for a little while. A couple of months later the guy called Andrea while she was working and she liked it. For me it seemed like she would be able to cheat on Alex. I didn’t expect this because she loves Alex really much and she really hates it when she doesn’t have time for him.

Comment on the style of the novel. Is it easy or hard to follow the events?
It isn’t really hard to follow the events, although there are many flash backs in the novel. You have to think about what happened before, so you know where the events are about. I could follow the events easily when I knew how the story was built up. Only at the beginning it was a bit difficult because there are so many flash backs in the book.

Is the language of the novel difficult or easy to follow?
I think the language of the novel was pretty difficult. There were many difficult words used such as ‘frantically’ or ‘dismemberment’. Many fashion terms were used as well. If you don’t recognize these terms it might be confusing. However, although there were difficult words, I still could follow the story quite well. When I read further there was often an explanation or it wasn’t necessary to know the word. I think this is a good thing because if I had to look up every word I didn’t know, I would be busy for hours.

To what age group is the novel aimed?
I think the novel is aimed to teenagers older than 12. Adults might like the novel as well. Many teenagers who read the book liked it but there are many adults who liked it as well. I think the novel isn’t aimed to a certain age group. The novel is written for everyone that wants to read it. However, I think children younger than 12 won’t understand everything because there are many difficult words. Many situations might be difficult for them to understand as well.



Is there a message or a main theme emerging in the book? How is it shown?
I think it’s a bit difficult to find the message in the book but it has to do with being yourself. When Andrea starts working at Runway magazine, she doesn’t care about fashion at all. She hates the job and she promises herself that she will never become like the other girls who have been working there. Later on she starts to like fashion. The fashion industry changes her, even though she never wanted that to happen. I also think the theme has to do with ambition. Andrea wants to become writer for The New Yorker so badly that she’s able to do this hard job. Miranda Priestly can have a big influence on the job Andrea will get in the future. If she does her job well, the possibility that she can work at the New Yorker will be bigger. This is what Andrea thinks about when she considers quitting or giving up and get fired. I think the writer wants to say: Do whatever it takes to reach the goal that you want to reach, but beware that you don’t change on the journey to that goal

Describe any new characters that are introduced. What is their purpose?
Not many new characters are introduced towards the middle of the novel. Mr. Tomlinson comes to the office sometimes. This is not very often. He’s the husband of Miranda and Andrea likes him. He’s very nice and particular chatty, which annoys Andrea a bit. He’s not a very important character. Another character introduced is Christian. The guy that Andrea met at the party she went to with James. He isn’t really important in the story yet, but I think there’s going to happen something which has to do with Christian.
 
Journal 3
page 1- 360

What is de climax of the novel?
The climax of the novel is that Andrea finally realizes that this isn’t the way she wants to live. She sacrifices too much for the job. Andrea is going to Paris with Miranda, since Emily was sick. When she’s in Paris, Lily suddenly gets an accident and is in the hospital, in a coma. Andrea has to decide whether to go home and get fired, or stay in Paris for a couple more days so she can finish the year of working at Runway. After Andrea told Miranda that she’d stay in Paris, Miranda tells her that Andrea reminds her of herself when she was young. Andrea is shocked. She doesn’t want to become like Miranda. When Miranda tells her something about not doing her job properly, she knows what she has to do. She tells her what she really thinks and decides to go home. Of course Andrea was fired right away. Andrea writes some stories and she gets an opportunity to write for Seventeen magazine. Andrea can get along with these people very well. She’s happy that those people appreciate her writing. It looks like she can finally do what she always wanted.

How are the major and minor conflicts resolved?
The major conflict was that Andrea forgets what the most important things in her life are. She wants to become writer so badly, that she would do this horrible job. She’s more fixated on her job. In Paris she finally realizes that her family is way more important than her job that she already hated so badly. Lily needed her and if she’d stay in Paris, she wouldn’t forgive herself for that. Now that Andrea quit the job, she has enough time again for her family and friends. That way the minor conflicts are resolved as well. The relationship with Alex wasn’t going very well. Andrea isn’t the same person anymore and Alex feels that he doesn’t love her anymore. They decide to break up and stay friends.

What were the major things that helped to resolve the plot?
The major things that helped to resolve the plot is the accident that Lily got. Due to this, Andrea decides to quit the job because that’s the best thing to do. Another thing that helped to resolve the plot is that Miranda told Andrea that she reminds her of herself. Andrea hates the idea that she would become the same as Miranda so she starts to think that this isn’t what she really wants.

What message did you get from the novel? How was the message conveyed?
The message that I got from the novel is that you have to follow your dreams, but you mustn’t do anything against your will. Sometimes you can want something so badly, that you would do thing you actually don’t want to do. Andrea is doing this terrible job. She believes that if this is the only way to get an opportunity of working as a writer at the New Yorker, she must do the job, no matter what. Sometimes you need to expect the unexpected and follow your heart.

Is the novel believable?
I think the novel is really believable because it’s realistic. The story could be real. It was also possible to relate with the main character. That makes the story believable. I can imagine why Andrea made these choices. I think I would’ve done the same in some situations. The writer really showed me what Andrea was going through.

Why would you (or why would you not) recommend this novel to a friend?
I would definitely recommend this novel to a friend. It’s a really interesting subject to read about. If you like fashion you should definitely read this book. Maybe you can learn something about it as well. I think that a lot of people will like the book because it’s realistic and sometimes funny as well. A friend recommended this novel to me as well and I’m very grateful for that. A lot of people that read the book liked it and if you like the film, you should read the novel as well.

Why did (or didn’t) the novel meet your expectations?
Actually the novel didn’t meet my expectations. This is actually quite positive because I thought that it would be just one of these books that are related to fashion. I didn’t really know what to expect but I was thinking about for example, a girl that wants to become a model but nobody likes her and she isn’t confident about herself. That’s what I thought when I heard that the novel is about fashion. Fortunately this wasn’t true and I enjoyed reading the novel.

 

Final Assignment

Interview with Lily:

First of all, how are you doing? You’ve been through a tough time, haven’t you?
Well it wasn’t that tough. Yes, I’ve been arrested and I was in a coma but I’m still alive so we better forget about that. Everything is normal again since my best friend gave up her job for me. Well, she doesn’t want to confirm that but that’s the way I feel about it. I’m glad everything is like it used to be again. I’ve got nothing to complain about.

How would other people describe you?
I think others would describe me as a crazy, outgoing girl that lives for the moment and doesn’t worry much about the future. I still live the life of a student and I think that’s why I like to party and I get drunk a lot. I date a lot of boys but actually I don’t really like any of them. Sometimes I do things without thinking about it first. That’s why my best friend Andrea is always so worried about me, I think. I don’t care if I get in trouble or not I want to live my life that’s all.

About what happened last year. Andrea is your best friend, what did you think about her job?
First I was very happy for Andrea; she finally got a job that could help her to get a job as a journalist for The New Yorker. I was actually a bit jealous because she worked in the fabulous world of fashion. She kept on complaining about it and I didn’t get why. Later on, I wasn’t that thrilled anymore. It felt like Andrea wasn’t that girl anymore that I always made fun with. She was so serious you know, she wasn’t into getting drunk and party all night anymore.

Andrea had a boyfriend. Aren’t you interested in a boyfriend?
No, not really. Since I broke up with my ex I’m not interested in having a boyfriend anymore. I like to have fun with boys but that’s all. I don’t get why Andrea always sticks to one boy. I mean like, come on you’re young, you can do everything you want. Being serious is something we do when we’re older and having a serious relationship is one of those things.

What are you and Andrea going to do now?
Andrea is going to write articles for several magazines and hopefully she’ll get a nice job at one of those magazines. I’m sure she’ll find something she likes to do. She has ambition. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do since I’ve graduated for my Russian lessons. Maybe something like teaching Russian or something that isn’t related to the Russian language at all. We’ll see. And of course Andrea and I both are going to party a lot and just have fun.

What is your motto?
My motto is; live life for the moment because everything else is uncertain. I really think this is true. It’s better not to worry too much about the future and just live your life. Even when your life is miserable, there’s always the choice to just forget that and go on. Stay positive and believe that it’s going to be fine.