Day 1

Ashly Day
Mrs. Tolkan
English 12 Per. 3
2/3/2015
Summary and Analysis: A Stolen Life
In the memoir A Stolen Life written by Jaycee Dugard, she tells her story of being
kidnapped by Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy at age 11 while walking to her school bus.
Jaycee writes about her 18 years of imprisonment trapped in a sound proof shed in their backyard
located in Antioch, California. In this book she tells all the things that she was forced to keep
secret while under the control of Phillip and Nancy.
The story starts off with her describing what happened the morning she was taken. As she
was waiting for her school bus that morning she was stopped by a car, the women hopped out
and stabbed her with a stun gun. Jaycee immediately fell to the ground and the last thing she
remembers seeing was a pinecone in the dirt before being forced into the car. As all of this was
happening, her stepfather was watching from their porch, he hopped on his bike and chased them
as far as he could go before he lost them.
Once Jaycee wakes up, she finds herself in the back seat of their car, she immediately
screams for help and is scared to death. All she hears are the strangers voicing talking about how
they cant believe they actually got away with it. Once they arrive at their home in Antioch,
California, she is forced straight into their backyard and into a sound proof shed. She is stripped
of her clothes, manipulated, raped and abandoned in this shed for 18 years.

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Phillip would often manipulate her by bringing milkshakes and food to make her happy
and make it seem like everything they are doing is okay. Phillip and Nancy brainwashed her into
thinking that her family didnt care about her anymore or forgot about her, she also started to
enjoy Phillips company since that was the only human contact she ever had. At age of thirteen,
after three years of being held captive, Jaycee gave birth to her first daughter. Four years later, in
1997, when she was seventeen years old she gave birth to her second daughter. She gave birth to
both of her daughters in the shed of their backyard, she tried her best to teach them things but she
didnt know much since she had the knowledge of an eleven year old. Her two daughters started
referring to Phillip as dad and Nancy as mom.
Finally, on August 26, 2009, Phillip and Nancy Garrido were caught. Phillip took Jaycee
and her two daughters to the University Of Berkeley, California, and was passing out flyers
while one of the security guards thought it looked suspicious. After doing a background check on
Phillip, they found out he was charged for many other cases involving sexual harassment. They
immediately took action and got ahold of the girls and took him to the police. While talking to
Jaycee, she was scared to say anything because of how manipulated and brainwashed she was by
Phillip. She didnt want to get him in trouble because she felt like he had done so much for them.
After the charges were set for Phillip and Nancy, Jaycee and her daughters were reunited with
their family. Phillip was charged for 143 years in prison and Nancy was charged for 36 years to
life. The pinecone, which is on the cover of this book, was the last object she say before being
taken and that symbolizes hope and freedom to her.
Analysis: A Stolen Life

Before reading A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard, my expectations were that it was going
to be about her life being kidnapped and imprisoned for 18 years under the control of Phillip

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Garrido. I had heard the story on the news and when I found out she wrote her own memoir I
was very interested. I enjoyed reading this work because I was very intrigued at how she dealt
with being kidnapped and kept in a shed for 18 years without any other human contact than with
Phillip. What motivated me to read through the end was to find out how she escaped and got her
life back. My initial impression of this works purpose is that it is informative and persuasive
towards how badly and harsh she was treated. From the title A Stolen Life I could tell right off
the bat that this was going to be about how she got most of her life stolen by being kidnapped
and held captive. This work wasnt very difficult to read, Jaycee has only had the knowledge of
an eleven year old so she didnt use much complex words.
This type of literary work is nonfiction. She tells of true events that she experienced. The
major elements and techniques of literature that were emphasized in this work was point of view
and images and symbols. This whole book was from Jaycees point of view as she was
experiencing everything herself, she uses symbols, like the pinecone, to represent hope and faith
that she will see her family again.
Before reading this work, I had a little bit of background information from seeing the
story on the news and in the newspapers. What I have learned from this work that could enhance
my own life is to never take the moments you have with your friends and family for granted,
because they could be gone and missed forever. I am not judging the work by its own merits,
unswayed personal judgments about the authors reputation, or for the requirements of reading
length. I completely agree with most students or readers that have done reviews on this book,
they all say how strong Jaycee was and how much of a miracle it was that she was found. I
disagree with the values presented by Phillip and Nancy Garrido, I do agree with the values that

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Jaycee showed through her captivity, she showed hope and bravery. My enjoyment and
appreciation has stayed about the same after analyzing it on my own. If I were writing a review
of this work for a newspaper, I would encourage others to read this book by saying it gives you a
whole different perspective of life through her eyes and shows how nothing should ever be taken
for granted.
The images and ideas of this work seemed very vivid and alive through the descriptions
of her life. This work presented a very clear vision of how she was treated for 18 years in
imprisonment. Since this work has been written the reputation of this author has become more
popular and she is being recognized for her courageous mindset. Jaycee wrote this memoir to let
everyone know the secrets that Phillip and Nancy forced her never say, her life is not a secret
anymore.