Introduction

The Twilight series is written by Stephenie Meyer. It immediately got popular and became an international bestseller. Over the past ten years, the books have been beloved by many young adults.

The four books in the Twilight series are mostly focused on the relationship between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. Rather than a fantasy about vampires, it is more of a romance novel. Magic is only used to make help make the plot more exciting.

The second book, New Moon, follows the first book Twilight. It continues with the story of Bella. At the start of the book, Bella turned eighteen. However, at her birthday party, things went wrong and Edward decided to leave her. Bella was devastated over the loss and started having nightmares. She was nearly driven crazy. Finally, she found a friend, Jacob Black. Soon they grew inseparable, and Jacob’s secret as a werewolf was revealed. As the Cullens returned, Bella must choose for herself the road to follow.

Immortality

In Twilight, vampires are immortal and can live for hundreds of years. Edward Cullen is 109 years old. However, their appearances hardly change. The Cullens all look very young. It seems that the vampires are perfect, in Bella’s eyes, with strength, speed, and wealth. However, this may not always be the case.

Vampires lost their souls. They are always thirsting for blood and can’t help murdering people. They are not allowed to show their secrets to humans and had to follow the rules of the Volturi. They must always be very cautious and go into hiding. Vampires are very lonely. They can never be a part of the human world for long.

That is why when Bella asked to be a vampire, Edward always refused. There is beauty in the mortal world. She has a future to consider. It is not so easy as that to be a vampire, just a bite and nothing more. Edward insisted on Bella going to college, which is her plan B. He wanted her to at least enjoy a few years of her life. When Edward left Bella in the woods at the beginning of the book, he was hoping that maybe she would start a new life without him.

Lust

Edward and Bella always lust for each other. When Edward didn’t return for four months, Bella was so depressed that she was just like a zombie, as she described. After watching the movie with Jessica, Bella found Edward’s voice is at the back of her head when she is breaking her promise, which is staying safe. She went over two kinds of solutions over the loss of Edward, being numb, or feeling the pain. She couldn’t resist feeling numb at last, which led to her riding a motorcycle and cliff diving, only to hear the sweet voice at the back of her head.

The cover of the book shows a tulip losing a drop of its petals. It represents Bella losing a drop of blood, which is a triggering event at the beginning of the story, with Jasper unable to control his instincts and Edward realizing he is putting Bella in danger. It also symbolizes Bella losing Edward, and her tears of pain when Edward is away.

The book also gives a new image of a vampire. Unlike the one we thought of, they can have a lot of feelings. They can be like humans. They can love and hate, feel pain and happiness as well.

Choices

People’s dreams always disagree with reality. It is choices that are always deciding where we end up. Bella never regrets her choices. She chose without considering herself, but to follow Edward and not hurt anybody else. She chose to stay in Forks when Charlie wanted her to return to her mother Renee. She chose to be friends with Jacob. She chose to break the promises, sometimes putting herself in danger. At the end of the book, she chose to save Edward without hesitation.

Bella is always so determined and confident with her choices. What if she chose otherwise? What if she chose to stay with Jacob Black instead? Her life may be completely different.

Right and Wrong

Both the vampires and werewolves in the book have their instincts. They cannot help themselves. However, they always chose not to hurt people. The Cullens chose a vegetarian diet. It can be very hard to make such a simple choice like that. It took Carlisle so many years of practice. It tells us that one can do better in all circumstances.

The werewolves and vampires are in constant battle. They hate each other. Jacob referred to the Cullens as bloodsuckers. Alice described Jacob as the dog. Werewolves are so easily enraged and sometimes can’t control themselves. Vampires always thirst for blood. Bella was the only human who could get along with both of them.

Bella unable to be read

Vampires and werewolves are both very strong and have supernatural gifts. However, they both struggle to control their animal instincts. Bella appears to be the strongest emotionally. Some parts of the book are her monologue. She is the only one unable to be read by Edward and Aro. Even Jane, so powerful, can’t hurt her.

Bella can keep to herself after half a year. Edward said that human memories can be forgotten over a long time, but Bella didn’t forget her memories. Since Bella’s thoughts are unable to be read by Edward, it created a distance between them. That distance helped a lot in their relationship.

Love

Bella always wants to get equal with Edward. She wanted to be a vampire instead of going to college and becoming older. On her eighteenth birthday, Bella was very sad because she became older than Edward.

Edward offered many things for her, but Bella always refused. He offered to pay her through college and gave her a luxurious car as a birthday present. But Bella thought that they will just put them unequal in their relationship, which may be bad in the end.

Edward thirsted for Bella’s blood whenever he is near her. He always controlled himself, no matter how hard it is. When Bella’s fingers were hurt at the party, Edward did not even breathe when he is near her.

Edward wandered alone when he left Bella, hunting for Victoria. When Edward knew that Bella died, he was so sad. He always said without hesitation that Bella is the most beautiful thing in this world and he is not going to live without her. Bella is special because she can sacrifice all herself for love and family. She always put Edward at top priority and is eager to die for him. She accepted being grounded by Charlie in the end when she flew to Italy. That is why they are destined to be together.

Bella and Jacob’s relationship, however, is very different. Bella found Jacob just because she wanted company. She described him as someone always happy, like her sun.

Jacob is from a native American tribe. He is a werewolf. He is very tall and always warm to others. He is the kind of person you can always turn to in trouble. Jacob loved Bella very much. He once said, "I will always be there for you and won’t ever give up." Bella thought herself selfish when being with Jacob. Her love for Edward will never change, yet she did not reject Jacob. As Jacob is like a sun for her, she could not bear to turn away from him at the darkest times of her life.

Jacob helped Bella get out of the solitude she was in. They began to understand each other when Jacob’s secrets are revealed. However, Jacob can never take the place of Edward. Edward and Bella have a connection no matter how far away they are.

Jacob acts as a protector in the book. He protected Bella from getting hurt by Laurent or Victoria, the two vampires who are always hunting for her. He saved Bella when she was drowning. He did all that just because he thought it was right. His tribe was to "protect the people from vampires." When Bella turned away from him, he was so heartbroken.

Bella ended up with some serious problems at the end of the book. But as she is with Edward, all the problems seem insignificant. The story continues in Eclipse.

Book title & cover

An eclipse occurs when the sun is blocked. The sun in this book is the werewolf, Jacob Black. He shares many things in common with the sun. He is always hot and optimistic. He is also humorous and good-natured. Jacob always loved Bella. However, Bella cared more for Edward Cullen, the vampire. Edward stood in his way and became the barrier in the book.

The torn red ribbon on the book cover has many meanings. It showed that Bella must choose between her love Edward and her friend Jacob. The ribbon is torn but not completely cut, showing Bella's hesitation to choose Edward. The red ribbon also symbolizes human blood. Bella wanted to be a vampire, to be one of the Cullens, but could not completely break off from her human life.

The love between Bella and Edward

The love between Bella and Edward had gone ill at first. Bella was always watched by Alice's vision. Alice was only 15 minutes away. One needs more freedom in love. When Bella tried to go to La Push to see Jacob, she found Edward in her car. Bella attempted to break through her "prison." Twice she quickly switched to her decision to see Jacob.

Anyway, in the months Edward was away, it was Jacob who made Bella happy. Jacob had become a part of Bella, and the book deals with that problem, which needs negotiating and compromising.

Soon Edward recognized his mistake and apologized. He gave Bella the freedom to choose for herself. At this point, Edward is more mature than Jacob. He is always confident that Bella won't let him go away. Both Bella and Edward care more for the other than for themselves. Edward even claimed, "If [kissing Jacob] is what she wants, then I won't object."

Jacob claimed that he may be better for Bella and make her happy. Bella also thought that Jacob was the best person beyond the Cullen family. But with Edward so handsome and caring, Bella cannot help but fall in love with him. If Edward really did not return, what would happen? Jacob could be a possibility.

Jealousy

Jealousy is a great part of the book. Jealousy can turn easily to hate. When one's jealous, it is really hard to control oneself. Jealousy exists both in the normal world and the supernatural world.

Bella's classmates are jealous of her since she dated the most stunning boy. Rosalie was mean because of jealousy. Rosalie thought herself really beautiful, yet Edward did not pick her. She wanted to have a good human life and become old like everybody else. She couldn't fulfill this dream. She couldn't accept the fact that Bella had won Edward's heart so easily.

"Some of the family will die"

Alice saw in her vision that the newborns are coming. The Cullens sought help. When the Tanya family said they can help if the La Push wolves are destroyed, the Cullens refused their help. Finally, the Cullens decided to form an alliance with the werewolves.

Everybody was excited about the fight except Bella, who was very anxious. The Cullens are still outnumbered. Although Emmet and Jasper are strong and tough, she can't bear to see Alice or Esme joining the fight. She can't bear to lose any of them.

Characters in the book care more for others than themselves. Bella was like "let them come after me and kill me instead." Jacob couldn't care less for his own safety. At this point, Edward chose not to join in the fight and protect Bella. Bella thought it is very selfish of her to do that, but it is the only agreement they can reach.

Weakness & cruelty

The book deals with the cruelty of real life. Bella cannot live two lives. The newborn vampire Bree must be killed by Volturi. Bella must leave her family and life behind to join the Cullens, and the time is set——her human life is limited.

Life is hard for the werewolves. Although they are big, always hot, and fast to heal, they can not have their own thoughts. All wolves in a pack must share their thoughts. They stay on constant alert for fear of vampires.

The third wife

The third wife is an ancient Quileute woman. After her son was killed by the cold woman, her husband Taha Aki fought with the vampire. However, her husband was also losing the fight. She stabbed herself in the heart to distract the vampire. Then two of her sons turned into werewolves and managed to defeat the vampire.

The story inspired Bella to cut herself when Edward was fighting Victoria. She was a weak character, and could only do this to help. However small the thing might be, it showed her courage and love for Edward. She was brave and mentally strong.

Becoming a vampire

In the previous books, Bella was persistent to become a vampire. As the day drew near, she became nervous. Being a vampire is very hard. She must deal with her thirst. She saw the newborn, Bree, as herself.

When she told Jacob her decision, Jacob was so disappointed and wanted her "better off dead." She would be an enemy to her friend. Jacob said that she would no longer be a human, her heart would stop beating.

Rosalie didn't want to be a vampire. In fact, she admitted she was shallow and didn't want to stand out. She just wanted a normal marriage and life. However, her husband Royce didn't even like her. She thought that "to be under gravestones" would be better than being a vampire. She rescued Emmet just because she thought he was like her friend's son.

Although she was happy with Emmet, she could never be with a white-haired Emmet and their grandchildren. She wanted a traditional life so badly.

Similarly, Jasper hated his life before as a vampire, until he met Alice. He had to kill innocent people, which made him guilty and hate his life.

Being a vampire is not fun. Bella can't turn back in life. She has to live on for thousands of years and deal with all sorts of trouble.