Mister Monday - Discuss the Prologue-Chapter 6

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Here we’ll be discussing the prologue and chapters 1 through 6 of Mister Monday by Garth Nix!

Feel free to offer any thoughts that you like or to use some of our suggested questions below. There are also some optional creative prompts that you can choose to complete for more beans.

If you include specifics about the plot, please remember to use spoiler tags to avoid spoiling it for someone who might have clicked on this post by mistake. You can do this by typing

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Discussion
Why do you think someone is so intent on keeping the will locked up?
Who do you think the mysterious Mister Monday is?
If you were in Arthur’s position, do you think you would have dealt with the strange events in the same way?
What do you think is going to happen next? (remember to use spoiler tags!)

You can write as much ore as little as you want (this is meant to be a bit of easy fun) but please do try to write at least a few lines to avoid spam. If someone has said something you find interesting, you should definitely respond to them.

You’ll earn 10 beans for contributing to the discussion.

Creative
Writing (15 beans)
If you were going to keep The Will hidden in a secure location, where would you choose and what kind of security measures would you use? At least 50 words for full credit, please.
Art (15 beans)
Make a graphic of part of the house and it’s oh-so strange architecture. Please upload your graphic to an image hosting website and make sure it’s no more than 600 by 600 pixels.

The deadline for earning beans is 11:59 PM HOL-time on the 31st of October.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Reading the book, circa about Chapter 3, I started realizing that this is not an ordinary story.

It had already started being a bit eerie, a bit spooky, but that is to be expected, right? It's October, it's the month of All Hallows' Eve, all that stuff.

But come about Chapter 3, the second page of Chapter 3, I said to myself "Sky, what have you done?".

Be aware, folks, that this is not a book to read on a dark and stormy night. It's preferable to read it in the light of day, with no chaos around you if possible, because the story itself provides all the 'dark' and the 'chaos' and the mayhem and confusion and just simply strange plot elements that you might want. (It's sort of reminiscent of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane, or his Coraline, so far. High compliment on my part; Mr. Gaiman is the awesome.)

As for the prompts ...
Why do you think someone is so intent on keeping the will locked up?
I think that someone is intent on keeping the will locked up because they have their own agenda and the will, being available, will render their own intentions negligible if not undone.
Who do you think the mysterious Mister Monday is?
Right now? Someone very unattractive and no one I'd want to talk with or be around. But who knows? The story is just now starting out ....
If you were in Arthur’s position, do you think you would have dealt with the strange events in the same way?
If I was in Arthur's position, I think I might not have dealt with events in the same way. Life happens and my dealing with what is going on depends on the circumstances in which I find myself at that time. And if I'd had any coffee.

I've no idea what will happen next. So far, this story is a completely new roller coaster for me.

[Prof. Sirius Fudge]

The story is one that is unpredictable. The author has so many things left unsaid, leaving several assumptions to the readers' imagination. It also makes the reader read more so as to answer those questions soonest.
 
As for the questions:

Why do you think someone is so intent on keeping the will locked up?
I think the will is of crucial importance, in the level of keeping the balance of the universe, or of sustaining the realities in different dimensions, along those lines.
Who do you think the mysterious Mister Monday is?
For now, he is painted as the antagonist, the one after the protagonist, chasing him for the will. But a twist might be coming in the next few chapters.
If you were in Arthur’s position, do you think you would have dealt with the strange events in the same way?
I think so, I will be doing some of the things Arthur would do. The difficulty of breathing is one limitation that could cloud judgement before the action but it could be the right trigger needed to do the right thing. In one instance, I also thought of the idea that the creatures could not enter without one's permission.
What do you think is going to happen next? (remember to use spoiler tags!)
Moments of truth may come next, such as the discovery of the function and objective of the will and Monday's role in it, whether he truly is an antagonist. We'll see.

I am not sure if I will be able to finish this by the end of the month. I hope so.

[Scarlet Robloutain]

I must say, the story confused me quite a bit. I have no idea why. Nonetheless, it is fun and I do wanna keep on reading.

Now for the questions:

Why do you think someone is so intent on keeping the will locked up?
I think they have their own plan on causing trouble or grasping for power and the Will being free would get in the way of this.

Who do you think the mysterious Mister Monday is?
He surely looks like a bad guy. Maybe not the ultimate villain or the scariest bloke you will pass, but not one to underestimate either.

If you were in Arthur’s position, do you think you would have dealt with the strange events in the same way?
I don't think I would've believed everything so quick, nor would I have gone to find out the truth about it right away. However once tangled up in it, I do believe I'd get to the bottom of it as I hate leaving stuff unfinished.

What do you think is going to happen next?
Of course the salt is gonna hurt the creatures somehow. There'll be a lot more trouble with Mister Monday too, maybe he turns out to be some super villain? Would be cool. Maybe he isn't the bad guy at all... The Will will also reveal more of its powers.