In I Am The Cheese, Robert Cormier tells of a young boy living in Monument, Massachusetts. At ten o'clock in the morning, Adam Farmer sets out for Rutterburg, Vermont by bicycle. During his journey, Adam meets the inhabitants of the small towns in New England although determined to arrive at his destination, he sings to himself all the way. The book switches to a series of undated, taped transcripts between Adam and a doctor named Brint, and he asks Adam to remember his earliest memories. Together, Adam and the doctor sift through Adam’s past and uncover the truth about the Farmer family. “I turn the corner and see the hospital. The iron gates gleam in the sun... Mr. Dupont is waiting for me... He is always waiting for me.” (Cormier 224) It becomes apparent, that in reality, the entire excursion occurs within the confines of an institution. Adam rides his bike around the parking lot of the hospital but within his thoughts, he carries a package to his father in Rutterburg. The final page of the novel restates the first paragraph of the book, where Adam begins his journey to Rutterburg from his home. The book was written in first person for most of the story. Adam narrates his own journey from Massachusetts to Vermont and the book’s most interesting context takes place in these chapters. Nearly every other chapter, our story switches to a collection of taped transcripts. “A: But I wondered. Why did he keep the birth certificate if it was wrong, had the wrong date? And why did he keep it sealed? T:What did you do about it? (5-second interval) A: I’m tired. I’ve got a headache. T: What did you do about it? A: Its late. I want to go to bed. T: What did you do about it? A: I can’t remember. Its too hazy. T: What did you do about it? (6-second interval) A: Nothing.” (Cormier 74) Although the tapes are essential to Cormier’s plot, the conversations between Adam and Brint can become dull and a little slow. The main themes of the book were the discovery of one’s identity, helpless individual v.s. powerful organization and the song, “The Farmer and The Dell”. Although this book is a quick read it’s plot contains very adult concepts. Robert Cormier is a great children/teen writer and I enjoyed reading this book. I am the Cheese would mainly appeal to readers near Adam’s age because of some simple connections kids at the ages eleven through fifteen can make. I was recommended this book by my mother who read it recently so this book can be appreciated by all ages. I give this book a four out of five. I understand that the book was written to attract a younger audience but the depth of the story line does not match the level of reading. I would have given I am the Cheese a five but the writing is for a lower level reader. Join Adam and experience a memorable trip through a thirteen year old mind!
This is one of my all time favorite books. I first read it in 7th grade. The story is of a boy Adam Farmer (actually Paul Delmonte). The story is complicated in that there are three developing plots. One is of Adam Farmer who is riding his bicycle from his home town of Monument, Massachusetts to an unknown location. This plot is simply of his journey and several trials that occur during it. The second plot is of, presumably, Adam sitting with an unnamed interviewer, presumably his psychiatrist, This plot is simply of the two of them conversing in a room. And the third plot is of the life of Paul Delmonte that is slowly uncovered during the discussions in the second plot. After a long series of revelations it is learned that Paul Delmonte is the real identity of Adam Farmer after his father testified against the mafia. Delmonte family was relocated and changed there name to Farmer. Then it is revealed that Adam is currently in a mental hospital because he had a mental collapse after the mafia successfully killed his parents in a car bomb explosion (Adam was in the car durring the explosion). But its not done yet, the therapist of Adam is actually a member of the mafia attempting to elicit a confession from Adam that he actually is Paul Delmonte so that the mafia can confirm they killed the right family. The Bicycle ride was all a delusion of Adam's on mind to coup with the fact that his parents were killed and every event in the bicycle ride is synonymous with the events in Adams life before the murder of his parents. As you can probably tell, the storyline is very complex and confusing, but that itself is a part of the theme to the book; that nothing is really as it seems. The same theme appears in the storylines of Long Way Gone, HeLA, and 12th Night. Nothing in the book that is assumed in the beggining of the book is actually as it is in the end of the book when is all is revealed just in life rarely are situations as they appear to be There is always a deeper meaning, deeper secret to. A smaller theme could be argued that the authorities are not to be trusted. The police betrayed the Delmonte family by an inside-man giving away their new location, and the therapist betrayed Adam by actually being a mafia agent trying to elicit information. And then an even smaller theme could be that one should never get involved in with the mafia or interfere with the mafia; they will find you, and kill you.
What do You think about I Am The Cheese (1998)?
Would you go to another town on your bike to see your dad ? The genre of this book is realistic fiction. I think this book is really good because i likethe way he tells us what happens on his trip to see his dad. Adam lives in a small town with his mother. He goes to Rutterbug, Vermont to see his father. But in the story he is also in a place that might be a hospital or jail but they always ask him question.The story is mostly about Adam telling you about his journey to see his father and all the struggles he had to go through. The type of conflic of this story is person vs. person because Adam has to find out his real identity and he basically keeps himself from not stopping when he is on his bike. Furthermore Adam is in love with this girl called Amy Hertz and he also sings a song his dad used to sing with him, he sings this song when he is on his way to see his dad. Im guessing this made him happy because his dad thought him that song. I was confused when Adam didnt tell anyone he was leaving, like where was his mom at that time ? But i kind of,understand him not saying anything because maybe someone would of held him back. Moving on i think its sweet how he needed to,hear Amy's voice so he could keep going. I find that really sweet because he is basically saying that she is his strength. I was so confused when at the beginning of each chapter had someone asking Adam questions because i would get confused but i liked how Adam told stories in the beginning of the chapter. Futhermore i think him singing that song his dad thought him made me realized how important family is and small details like that could make such a big difference because that song helped him keep going. In all i think this a really good book. I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars because i like reading stories about journeys abut this story was a little different because Adam wasnt only telling me about his story but he was also being interviewed by another person at the same time. I,would recommend this book to people who dont really care about their family because i want them to see what a kid had to do to see his father and they dont appreciate that they have their parents right there with them. Just remember always to sing "The farmer in the dell".
—Ashley Arredondo
From the first, I was curious about the narrator's age. Later in the story he says he is fourteen, though often he seems younger (as it turns out, there is a reason for this). The author employs three styles of narration: first person, third person, and interview transcript. The interviews, with a man called Brint, quickly take on a sinister tone: Adam correctly perceives that Brint is not a doctor, and Brint is evasive - he says he wants to help Adam fill in the blanks in his memory, and yet Ad
—Jenny
Two thoughts on this one:1) there actually was a final Mark Monday review in my updates today.2) did you ever answer Jacob's question from 20 or 30 titles or must I scroll through them each one more time?
—mark monday
