Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

Jeff Garrett

Resolution

A tall basketball player who is Mark's best friend. He is a minor antagonist for being much of the muscle and conception of the Griffin scheme. He and Mark became friends when Mark first moved in town and watched as he set fire to a cat and for some reason, probably due to Mark's psychopathic charm, did not think hanging out with a guy who ignites animals was a bad thing. Jeff is Betsy's boyfriend, really only being used by her to get closer to Mark, and seems to always be hungry.

While never described, the main conflict is solved by the trials of Mark, the lesser trial of David, Betsy, and Jeff, and Susan "telling the whole truth" about their cases.

Mark Kinney

The antagonist and mastermind of the Griffin scheme, Mark is a relatively new kid in town and legally speaking a psychopath. He manipulates the others to kidnap Mr. Griffin, attempts to murder Susan, and allegedly murders David's grandmother and his own father. He lives with his aunt and uncle, because his father was killed in a house fire and his mother said she never wanted to see him again.

Setting

This story is set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, presumably in 1979.

Susan McConnel

Mr. Brian Griffin, Sr.

The protagonist of the story, Susan is a lonely high school girl who wants to be a writer. She has three "dreadful, handsome, smart-aleck" younger brothers, a mom, and a dad. Susan becomes a part of this Griffin scheme because of her crush on David, who was in on it, and because of her desire for friends.

A teacher at Del Norte(dehl nor-tA, Spanish for of the north, northern, you get the idea) High School who used to be a college professor. He is very strict, believing A's are only meant to be given out to perfect assignments, and because of this is very disliked. He dies, clearly, after being kidnapped by Mark's gang and not taking his angina medication. Mr. Griffin is married and has a son by the end of the book. Or should I say his wife has their son. Mr. Griffin was dead by this point :(.

Conflict

Betsy Cline

The conflict of this story is the death of Mr. Griffin and how the kids try to cover up the incident.

David Ruggles

A "cute," spoiled girl who is a minor antagonist due to her high role in planning out some details and alibis for everyone in the Griffin plot. She has an unhealthy obsession with Mark(well, anything to do with Mark is probably unhealthy) because of him not "noticing her cuteness," despite dating Jeff.

Chosen to alibi the main three ringleaders of the Griffin scheme, Jeff, Betsy, and Mark, Dave is a kid with a pretty boring life. He takes his studies seriously because his dad left his family and his mom has to support Dave and her mother-in-law. David believes anything good that will happen to his family will have to come through him, as his mother tells him, but still becomes a part of the Griffin scheme presumably because of his boring life.

Event Two: Susan Reads Mr. Griffin's Note

After not moving for a while, Susan gets up and reads her Song for Ophelia found by Mrs. Griffin earlier. She reads his note, only the second compliment given by him to a student, and decides to comb her hair to get ready.

Falling Action: Event One: Susan and her Mother Chat

Extra Details: The Mountains

After being kidnapped, Mr. Griffin was lead forcefully up the mountains to a place only Mark, his gang, and Lana, Mark's old girlfriend, knew. Somewhere along the way, Mr. Griffin dropped his nitroglycerin pills. By the waterfall, Griffin was asked to beg to be let go by his kidnappers, but he refused, so they left him in the mountains overnight. Susan, overwhelmed with guilt, and David, went up to the mountains that night, only to find he was dead. After much plot and details, Mark, Jeff, Dave, and Betsy went up to the mountains to retrieve Griffin's car and bury him. The mountains come into play one last time when Lana and her fiance go up to a picnic and find the empty bottle of pills, which she takes to the police. This evidence helps the police figure out Mark may have had something to do with the disappearance of Mr. Griffin.

In her room, Susan's mother walks in to talk to Susan about the Griffin incident. She tells Susan that her husband and herself went to a psychologist and Susan is informed Mark fits the clinical description of a psycopath. The talk more about the subject and Mrs. McConnel tells Susan to get ready to go shopping for curtains.

Climax: Mark sets fire to the McConnel House

After hearing word of David's grandmother's death and deducing from descriptions the murderer may have been Mark, Mark ties up Susan in her house and sets the curtains on fire. He is caught by Detective Baca and Mrs. Griffin before Susan is burnt to a crisp.

Event 3: Mr. Griffin's Death

Event Two: The Plan in Action

Feeling guilty, Susan convinces David to go with her to free Mr. Griffin. When they get there, to their horror, he is dead, probably due to his angina. They get to Mark and go through a long series of plot and details to cover their tracks, which leads to a painted car, the possible murder of David's grandma, and so many lies.

Event One: The Plan

After reinforcing their alibis, the plan is set into motion. Susan goes to a meeting with Mr. Griffin, after which the boys capture Mr. Griffin. Late, Betsy arrives after the kidnappers, minus Susan, leave. Susan, feeling guilty, tells Betsy to go to the mountains, the place where they were taking Griffin,without her.

After an incident in class, Mark gathers everyone involved in his plan(Susan, David, Bettsy, Jeff) to his secret hangout, a waterfall in the mountains, and tells Susan her part in the scheme to kidnap Mr. Griffin.

Symbolism: The Wind

The wind in this story symbolizes freedom; how there was much freedom in the beginning of the story, as Susan and David met each other, how there was a lack of freedom up in the mountains for Susan, and how there was a ton of freedom when Mark was caught trying to kill Susan.

Symbolism: Susan's Glasses

Susan's glasses are a symbol of guidance, as shown on the mountains, Susan took off her glasses, then Mark & Co. got her to agree to the Griffin scheme.