This image displays the hatred in Bjurman's eyes when hey realizes the control that Salander has over him. His hatred turned into his determination to get revenge on Salander. He hires a giant blonde hit man, but wants her back alive. In this guys eyes you can see he has no mercy for anyone, which is like Bjurman.
"Now you listen Bjurman: you're a pervert. I have no reason to forgive you. But if you keep yourself clean, I'll let you off the hook the day my declaration of incompetence is rescinded." (Larson 39)
This quote is at the very beginning of the book. It is referring to what happened in the last book when Bjurman, Salanders' guardian raped her. This is the basis for the rest of the book because this book in the series goes deep into Salander's life, her problems and how she deals with them. Bjurman has sent out a hit man to bring Salander to him and this book is about how she lives and manages to fight Bjurman. Additionally, the quote talks about her declaration of incompetence and how it is to be rescinded. Bjurman is a star player in that and she has a video of the rape which she plans to use against him until that declaration is rescinded.
Connections:
1) Big Brother: Salanders whole life is based off hacking into peoples computers. She is the real life big brother. When she taps into Mikael Bloomkvists and Advokat Bjurmans computers she is only proving the idea of there being a Big Brother to be true. In chapter 9 of this book she taps into Bloomkvist's computer just to simply check in on him. She reads through his emails and finds out personal information about a relationship he is having. It is instances like that in the book that show how simple the idea of Big Brother is to carry out. /In today's society it proves to be very possible to keep an eye out on anyone you please, as long as you understand technology well enough. It's kind of creepy.
2) Rape victims: In the first book, when Salander got raped by Bjurman, she was enraged by him. She didn't understand why anyone would want to do it to this lanky, short, skinny, punk girl. Her rage with him carried on through the second book, scaring her for life. Rape in todays society is a huge problem and this book shows the affect it can have on someones personal life. For instance "1 in 6 women are sexually assaulted in their life" claims RAINN. The fact that rape occurs so much in society shows the seriousness of the situation.
3) Sexuality: In this book Lisbeth Salander struggles with her sexuality. She has had many sexual encounters with men but she also enjoys the company of women. In chapter nine she goes to a bar with her sexual partner, who's a woman named Mimmi. In the bar she sees Mikael, whom she had a relationship with in the previous book. She gets confused with how to handle the situation and ultimately leaves with Mimmi. Her sexuality comes into question throughout the book and it is safe to come to the conclusion that she is bi-sexual. Sexuality is constantly being questioned by individuals today.
Reflection:
This book, was better than the first book! The story progressed a lot quicker than the first book allowing me to become absorbed in it more quickly. The story is definitely not relatable, but it is a riveting story. The complexity of Salander's problems helps the story progress as she experiences changing emotions. The sex and violence also help the story progress because it allowed me to follow the relationships and it made me curious as to what would happen next! I would completely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good mysterious thriller. It is on quite the cutting edge of novels, with the depth in which it talks about the characters. The descriptions of Salander are so detailed that you could picture her in HD. Another reason why I would recommend this book to others, is because of the way that he tells three stories at once that are somehow intertwined yet they don't come together until last minute. He is able to have three different stories going at once, but he keeps them all so well organized. In the end all of the stories come together to figure out what happens next! That is why I would recommend it; it is very well written.
Questions:
-Based on the cliff hanger, what will happen in the next novel?
-Does the giant have any relation to the story other than being a hit man?
-Why does Salander not talk to Bloomkvist in the beginning?
-How does Salander manage to survive emotionally?
-Why does Bloomkvist get into a relationship with Harriet Vanger in the first place?
