Independent Reading Book Post #3
(Book Title, Author, Pages read this week-from what page to what page)
Now that you are further into your book, how do you see the major issues/themes developing? What does your book have you thinking and wondering about these issues? Be specific, and use evidence (at least one quote) from the text.
Next: find an ad, article, image, video that relates to your book. Post a link to this text, and explain the relationship between the two. How are these two texts in conversation about the same ideas? Where do the two texts differ? Use specific evidence from your book and your related source to explain the connection. Remember to use correct MLA in-text citations when you cite sources.
Your response should be a minimum of two substantial paragraphs, both of which include evidence from the text. Please be aware of grammar and editing issues; make sure you proofread before you submit. We suggest that you compose in Word and then copy and paste into the blog to ensure that your response is properly edited.
Your response is due by 11:59 pm on Thursday, March 6. All posts received after this time will receive half credit. You may post early.
(Highest Duty, Chesley Sullenberger, pgs. 152- 205)
ReplyDeleteI am currently on page 205 of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s autobiography. Having read through his entire childhood, military career, and wedded life, two hundred and five pages in he is finally starting to talk about the event that happened on the morning of January 15, 2009, for which he is so famous and the real reason I read this book. Captain Sullenberger was piloting U.S Airways flight #1549 from New York’s La Guardia airport to Charlotte, NC, when the plane struck a flock of geese on its departure out of La Guardia. Both engines would be destroyed and, with the plane completely powerless and gliding, he managed to land it in the Hudson River. I stopped just short of his actual first-hand description of the event, but it has been interesting how he is leading- or building- up to it. He first starts describing that morning and he first few minutes of the flight, in which everything was normal. He goes through his daily routine as if nothing was- or would be- wrong. He states, “The weather that day was cold and clear, with scattered clouds. Winds were out of the north, so we prepared to take off toward the north” [Sullenberger, Highest Duty, 203]. He also states after the plane took off, “We continued climbing and accelerating. That incredible New York skyline was coming into view. Everything so far was completely routine” [Sullenberger, Highest Duty, 205]. He includes these quotes to show the audience that everything was normal that morning, and he did not feel as if something were wrong. By including these quotes, I am wondering whether humans are able to feel if something bad will happen. There are many stories where people had a “gut feeling” and chose not to cross the street or sit in a certain seat, therefore saving them from being run over or blown up. However, by including his personal experience, I wonder if this human instinct of knowing when something bad will happen or not is merely a myth.
http://listverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/lee-harvey-oswald-1.gif
The provided link is an image moments before the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald, in which the assassin points his gun towards Oswald’s stomach. This image can relate back to the above theme of anticipation of a negative event, because it is obvious that Oswald’s body guards or police officers were not able to have that “gut instinct” that Oswald would be shot, and therefore they could not protect him. It supports the above argument that humans cannot actually feel a warning before something is about to happen. For example, in the image we can see Oswald’s body guards all look very relaxed and unprotective of Oswald, especially the man to his right in the tan outfit, who is actually leaning away from Oswald. However, this is also a different situation from Sullenberger’s. This image is taken seconds before the assassination, and Oswald’s body guards would have had very little time to “feel the warning” before Oswald was taken out. Sullenberger had hours before his event to “feel this warning,” yet the warning still did not happen. He states, “I had four hours till I had to leave for the airport. I felt fine, and ready to go to work” [Sullenberger, Highest Duty, 204]. Therefore, both the evidence from the image and Highest Duty, are making the argument that humans cannot feel a warning before something negative is about to happen.
(The Fault In Our Stars, John Greene, finished)
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing "The Fault In Our Stars" I really began to think deeper into the idea of accepting death. It is a very serious subject and the main issue discussed within this book. This book made me feel very happy at points but also made me feel extreme sorrow at others. I had never thought about death the way I had thought about it after reading this book. It’s amazing that a book can do this to a person, and this book did an amazing job of making me think. I was brought into this world where everything revolved around cancer and death. The lives of parents who have children/teens with cancer are heavily centered around on spending as much time with their children as possible. This is sometimes difficult for the child/teen because they want to be able to go out and socialize with friends while they have the time, not just sit on the couch with their parents as they talk about how much they love their child. The child/teenager is so aware of their unavoidable death considering the circumstances and this aspect of the book had a very big impact on me. That they cant avoid the amount of time they have left; it’s sad because they feel as if they have to live every moment and make it count, when sometimes they just want to be a teenager instead of focusing on the fact that they are going to die. “What a slut time is. She screws everybody” (213). This quote sums up how aware they are of death, and how it could come for them at any moment because of their health conditions. Yet, at the same time this book made me realize that it could come for anyone. Death is unavoidable, but just because it is going to happen at some point-maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe years from now-doesn’t mean you shouldn’t live life to the fullest way possible.
http://wish.org/
Make A Wish Foundation was a very important aspect of this book. Hazel had used her wish many years ago to go to Disneyland, which she explains was very fun, but now at the age of 16 she wishes she could take it back to go Amsterdam to visit her favorite author. Luckily, Augustus never used his wish so they proceed on their journey across the Atlantic. If it hadn’t been for this foundation Hazel and Augustus may have never fallen in love, which was one of the most memorable and important aspects of their lives. I have always found Make A Wish Foundation to be very great, and it must really help make children feel better while they are going through something no one should go through, especially not a child. Everything they do is spectacular and definitely makes a difference in many individuals lives. Yes, “The Fault In Our Stars” is fiction, but it still represented Make A wish Foundation well, and really showed all the good they do.
(Sweet-Blood, Pete Hautman, finished, 180 pgs)
ReplyDeleteThe main theme of “Sweet-Blood” is being lost and trying to find oneself. The Main character, Lucy, was lost to the point where she let herself deteriorate to the point of a two-minute death. She didn’t find herself till she found herself in the hospital rescued from death. Her death experience and what caused it helped her find herself and wake-up. Before she found herself she was deteriorating by going against her instincts with what was safe by hanging out with a dangerous person, forgetting to take her insulin, and taking to much insulin. Two quotes in this book exemplify Lucy finding herself: “I’m still the same twisted individual. Just different.” And “Still Skeeter, still Lucy, still Sweetblood, still all of them.” The first quote shows that she’s grown from her experience and found a way to identify herself. The second quote shows that she learned from her past mistakes and she’s parts of all of those people she was in the past. She found herself throughout those pieces of her. This book has me thinking that it was a very extreme way for Lucy to find herself because it took a dangerous experience and a near death experience. Each ways that people find themselves once they are lost are unique to the individual. Some people find themselves and some don’t at all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uViY44iCK4c
This video connects to the main issue of the book because the video demonstrates the state f being lost and the process of finding yourself. This is demonstrated by the girl sleeping having a nightmare; in the nightmare there are many different scenes and fragments of different things. That demonstrates her being lost because she can’t separate and process all the events going on in her head. She is in the process of finding herself because she is lost. To find oneself you have to be lost first and go on a journey to find yourself. That is demonstrated in “Sweet-Blood” as Lucy becomes lost then comes out of it finding herself. This video shows a piece of being lost on the way to find oneself. The difference between these two pieces of media are that “Sweet-blood” shows the whole journey of being lost and finding yourself and the video only shows a piece of the journey and not the finished product of finding yourself.
Dariel Cardona
ReplyDeleteMrs. Dima
English 2 Honors
March 5, 2014
(The Year of the Hangman, Gary Blackwood 80-158)
I’m currently on page 158 of The Year of the Hangman. What’s happening so far in the book is that the main character Creighton’s mother sent her own brother to kidnap Creighton and send him to the colonies for his bad behavior. As Creighton arrives in the colonies he is forced to become a British informant during the Revolutionary War, but he is afraid of being one because that’s how his father died. He struggles to decide if he should be loyal to his country and be a British informant or to just be a normal American which is his role in coming to the colonies. He is also upset to find out that he own mother ordered for him to be kidnapped and now he believes his mom abandoned and doesn’t care about him anymore. It’s not that she doesn’t care about him anymore, but she was doing what was best for her son. She didn’t want him to end up becoming a criminal. The message of the story is that in life you have to learn how to make decisions based on what’s best and I say this because Creighton’s mom had to make the decision of sending her own child to the colonies and Creighton is faced with the decision of deciding if he should actually become a British informant or not.
http://www.thecareermuse.co.in/2014/01/02/6-unusual-techniques-great-decisions/
I choose this image to relate to the message of the book because the story is mainly about making decisions. The image says “Tough Decisions Ahead” and that’s exactly what Creighton if facing when deciding if he should be an informant or not. Also Creighton’s mom was faced with making the hard decision if sending him to the colonies based on his bad behavior. The image and the story don’t differ at all. Creighton is struggling really hard to make a decision because all he wants is to be normal and not having to worry about getting caught being and informant and having to be killed by the colonist.
( “The Blue Girl”, Charles de Lint, 130-203 )
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I am still reading “The Blue Girl” By Charles de Lint but I have stopped on page 203 to write this blog. The main issue addressed in the book, as I mentioned in my first and second blog, is about bullying. I find the issue developing slowly with small incidents between the main character, Imogene, and the popular kids in her school whom she likes to refer to as “the doll people”. The incident that stood out to me most was when one of the football players followed Imogene and saw her walk into the janitor’s closet, which, I know, sounds weird but, she had really followed the ghost, Adrian, into the closet to confront him about stalking her and then disappearing. “See?” I heard Jerry Fielder say. “I told you I saw her go in there” (Lint, Pg. 146). I really have a hard time putting together why they insist on following her around to know what she’s up to but also threaten her with “stay out of our way”. The author is portraying “the doll people” as typical bullies who just enjoy making others miserable because they don’t have an interesting life of their own. However, I’m not complaining. In my opinion, Lint did an amazing job with capturing the reality of people and their obnoxious behaviors, then applying that in a fantasy fiction plot. Furthermore, the book is now going deeper into fairies, angels and the darkness. Imogene finally meets Adrian, who tells her about how he really died and the fairies that accidently caused his death. However, Imogene has a hard time believing that fairies caused Adrian’s death not to mention that they even existed. Adrian wants to prove to her that they are real so he confronts his fairy friends who are now working on allowing Imogene to “see”. Seeing doesn’t just happen. To “see”, one must first believe. What Adrian doesn’t know is that this may lead to Imogene losing her soul to the darkness, and his fairy friends sure aren’t going to tell him. It’s just such an amazing twist. Must… Keep… READING!
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4757-9116-7_5 (Look Inside)
I can relate the issue of bullying in Charles de Lint’s book “The Blue Girl” to “Aggressive Behavior” written by Dan Olweus. In his book, Olweus states “I define bullying or victimization in the following general way: A person is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more persons” (Olweus, Pg. 98). Negative actions isn’t only about physical interaction. Negative actions are defined as when someone intentionally inflicts, or attempts to inflict, injury OR discomfort upon another. “Negative actions can be carried out by physical contact, by words, or in other ways …” (Olweus, Pg. 98). I can relate this text to what has been happening to Imogene in “The Blue Girl” because everything that Olweus defines as bullying has occurred in Lint’s book. Physical contact has happened between Brent, the quarter back, and Imogene at least twice. Brent has held Imogene by the arm to inflict pain “He grabbed my arm and squeezed hard enough to bruise” (Lint, Pg. 19). Also, he threatened her with mean words “Just stay off my radar, you don’t want to get on my bad side or I’ll squash you like the weird little big that you are” (Lint, pg. 20). Not only that but he has knocked her books out her hands before as well “Brent knocked my books out my hands. ‘Keep your smart mouth shut,’ he told me” (Lint, Pg. 56).
Alex Rosario.
ReplyDelete(Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, finished)
Finishing the book was a little hard for me. I love the book so very much. To be honest I didn't want it to end. From the very first chapter it wasn't hard to see that the issue in the book is which side of the town you grow up on. Through out the book I wondered why it really mattered which side of the tracks someone grew up on? Why the people who grow up on the north side were so much "better" than the people who grow up on the north? But then it hit me, they were all divided by who was rich and who was poor. The poor being the south siders and the rich being the north siders. "The kids from the north side don't really mix with the kids from the south side. It's not that we think we're better than them, we're just different. We've grown up in the same town, but on totally opposite sides. We live in big houses on Lake Michigan and they live next to the train tracks. We look, talk, act and dress differently." (Page 14). The people who grew up on the south side are people too, so why look and treat them differently?
http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-rich-and-poor
The link I used is for an article about the differences between the rich, and the poor. A majority of "Perfect Chemistry" is led by the diversity between the rich and the poor. The book and the website I used both look at rich and poor on opposite sides. The link being opposite sides of the spectrum and the book being the opposite said a of town. The book and website do have differences too though. The book, gives me a point of view between the rich and the poor, but the website gives me an idea of what rich and poor mean. The book puts you in the life of someone who grows up on the south side (Alex Fuentes) and the life of someone who grows up on the north side (Brittany Ellis). The website stated " rich have money and wealth and the "poor on the other hand lack money." Wealth should not cause diversity because we all came from the same place and we all are going to the same place, 6 feet under.
(Heart's Desire, Laura Pedersen, pg.202)
ReplyDeleteSo far, this book is still good and I still enjoy reading it and I read it up to pg.202 to write this blog. What I see now developing in my book is that, when Hallie was invited to a poker game she ended up winning up to $2,000 dollars, but she still needs another $24,000 to pay for her loan, rent, and car engine, but it was a sad day for Benard, her friend, because his mother tripped, fell, and was unconscious, but, luckily she was fine,but her husband, Ottavio, and Benard were horrified and shocked when Olivia, the mother of Benard and husband of Ottavio, wanted to see a priest, but she was arguing with the priest instead. Also Hallie is in love with a boy named Auggie who she might go out with.
http://www.studentlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/college-education-finance.jpg
This relates to my book because Hallie is struggling with both money and education, but all she needs is about $24,000 dollars for her rent, car engine, and loan. All Hallie needs to do is save up $10,000 dollars without taking money out from student loan, $4,000 to work over the summer, and another $8,000 for the car engine. The text is different from the image because most of the money that she needs is for her and not for her college. All she needs to pay for college is her classes and her student loan, but she needs to pay a lot more for herself than college.
Eric,
DeleteYou make a connection between what is happening to your character and student life today. So-try going beyond the plot issues: what are the bigger themes here? What is the writer trying to REALLY say/draw attention on?
Erica Snape.
ReplyDelete(Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld pg. 237)
I have started a this new book Prep, I currently finished The Mortal Instruments. this story revolves around Lee Flora, an intelligent 14 year old girl who got a scholarship to go to the prestigious boarding school Ault school. she is very shy at first and does not think she is going to fit in because all of the kids have rich parents or come from famous backgrounds. She comes from Indiana.On page 165 it says "Like most ault parents, they were rich... but they were Korean rich, foreign rich, or new york rich, all of the Ault parents resembled each other." i feel as though lee is underestimating herself and stereotyping many of the rich Ault kids. I wonder why lee separates herself from other classmates? Soon after this lee finds some roommates named martha and Sin - Jun who start to become friends and her and realize they share similar traits. Why be scared to make friends or talk to your crush? Lee has a huge crush on the junior cross.
http://www.gurl.com/wp-content/gallery/talktocrush/crush3.jpg
I chose this quote/ picture lee is holding herself back and not allowing herself to be more social and talk. she has few friends and she is scared to talk to more or less be near cross. This picture states "it's who you think you are not" this relates to this part of the story by saying that Lee doesn't think she is cut out for this school and is not rich and prestige enough.
Camille Fortin
ReplyDelete“Divergent” by Veronica Roth
In “Divergent” I have read from page 130 to 260, and have been on the edge of my seat since the beginning. Tris is now beginning to see why being divergent is both important and dangerous. She is put into simulations that create your fear landscape around you. By the third simulation, a glass box which slowly fills with water to drown her, she is able to control the simulation. “The pane shatters, and the force of water against my back throws me forward. There is air again.” [“Divergent”, chapter 20, page 254] Four finds out and tries to warn her by saying “You manipulated the simulation; you’re divergent. I’ll delete the footage, but unless you want to wind up dead”…” you’ll figure out how to hide it during the simulations” [“Divergent”, chapter 20, page 255]. This is dangerous and exciting, why should she be scared? Why is being different a bad thing? Why can’t she have more than one attribute?
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/584101/thumbs/o-RAYBAN-GAY-AD-570.jpg?4
I chose a Ray-Ban ad promoting gay couples. The reason I chose this is because I feel that one of this books many messages is that even though it may be scary, difficult and dangerous you cannot change or who you are. I feel that Tris is being restricted to only one faction and in addition only one attribute, in dauntless’s case bravery. Tris is also smart and selfless which makes her divergent and allow her to manipulate the simulations. This is dangerous, people have died from being too good at simulations “Georgie got really good”…”the last day of simulations he was gone” [“Divergent” Chapter 20, page 259]. The picture illustrates two men holding hands as they walk down the street. These men are similar to Tris because they are forced to be brave and show who they truly are. In the picture these men are not hiding parts of themselves like Tris will attempt to do. Society wants these men and Tris to hide what is different and special about them. .
Sam Smith
ReplyDeleteEnglish 2 Honors
Mrs. Dima
6 March 2014
Blog Post #3
("The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao", Junot Diaz, pages 84-201)
I would say that a major theme that is developing is independence and power of a young individual. Each separate chapter has been about a different character, this emphasizes the whole feeling of the individual by making it seem like the temporary main character is even more alone than they already are. There also seems to be a big focus on the gender of the characters, the men are all bad guys and piggish, while the women are idolized and use their looks and their wit to the best of their ability. One example of the gender theme is that both Lola and Belicia are seen as sexually desirable and they're able to use this as a form of power, they realize that they could control men with their sexuality. However, Belicia also soon realized that the control was only to a certain extent; she falls in love three times, but never remains in a lasting relationship. My book has me wondering if there is a correlation between the gender and the independence/power of the character because the book started off with Oscar Wao, a very sheltered, dependent individual who is really smart but doesn't do much with his life, the following chapters are about his sister and mother and how they worked hard for everything and were strong, independent people until love got the best of them. There isn't much dialogue in this book, in fact, there's no quotation marks in any of Junot Diaz' books, and the dialogue that is in it would probably get me suspended if I wrote it on this blog, but there was one that was immensely powerful, “Before there was an American Story...before Oscar and Lola... There was their mother, Hypatía Belicia Cabral” (77). By this one line, Díaz relates the entire book, both Oscar and Lola’s futures as well as their mother’s past, to one woman’s life; simply by being a woman, Belicia makes the entire book possible. There is no "parents" no father or boyfriend of Belicia, just herself, alone, again, this shows independence and strength, after all, she did raise two kids by herself, while battling cancer.
http://thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu/2011/05/men-really-do-like-independent-women
I chose this link because it was the closest relatable source I could find but it actually works, it explores of the topic of whether men like independent women or not. This ties in both the theme of independence and the sub-theme of gender. Both Belicia and Lola are strong, independent women who have been practically on their knees begging for a chance so this may go along with the discussion on if men like independent women or not. The quote "Based on my experiences, women tend to think that men are intimidated by someone who is non-submissive, straightforward and fits various other adjectives that are not compatible with traditional gender roles." (David Mendez discussion post) goes completely against the whole image of Belicia and Lola, both of which are not afraid to say what's on their mind even if it offends someone and put herself in harms way.
Wow! This is, indeed, an intriguing topic and quite debatable. It is also a coincidence that we are exploring the same topic in AP Language right now! I wish you explored more the connection between the article and your book, specifically the parts about powerful women being perceived as threatening because of their independent spirit.
ReplyDeleteAlso, careful with run-on's, comma splices (you know what I'm talking about!) and pronoun agreement.
Gary Miller Miller1
ReplyDeleteMrs.Dima
Blog post 3
“Zombie Blondes”
(“Zombie Blondes” Brian JamesPg100-140)
The Narrative Continues as Hannah gets closer to the town of Maple Crest. She pretends like it is a normal place too fit in with the other teens at Maple Crest High because if they knew what she knew about them and the people of the town danger would be in store for here in the long run. Will she stay under cover or will the truth or lies of the town slowly take over her? I think the theme of the story is that life in a new home or a new town can be difficult for someone “change”; which has a huge effect on someone’s life such as teens. Teens develop a sense of an emotion because they aren’t very fond of a certain place, trying new things can be an outcome or possibly a flaw depending on what they’re doing different with their life. This can be compared to Hannah’s situation. Moving to a new town was overwhelming for her, she didn’t know what was in store for her at the new home or even she knew high school. “I thought coming to this town would be a big problem for but as I get as our stay here has progressed, I feel as if everything feels like a home to me”. In order to fulfill a welcome home Hannah has to abide by keeping the secrets/conspiracies of her new home town a secret, by doing this she has been greeted with warm welcoming from the town and the community; maybe change can be good thing or will there be a set back if what she knows might be here final and last stay in that town. http://moving.about.com/od/settlingin/a/neighborhood.htm this ad pertains to moving into a new city or town and also how to be prepare our minds to be physically ready to start in a new life. I think this ad is similar to “Zombie Blondes” because after moving from town to town Hannah discovers how to be prepared for her knew high school’s diversity and what social status she must maintain to fit in with the others there. I think if Hannah knew about this ad she would be well prepared and new life wouldn’t be a problem for her any more. I think the Author wants us to know that when trying new things we should already know what night come our way, but it all depends on our safety and preparation; And If we want to be pleased we must be well primed to achieve our goal of a “New Beginning”.
The Shining Stephen King
ReplyDeletePages read: (210- 240)
Recently in the Overlook hotel which is the setting of this book, Danny the little boy has entered the forbidden room 217. At first I didn’t know why it was forbidden until Danny entered room 217’s bathroom and saw a naked dead woman’s corps,her body was purple and blue and she was sitting motionless in a filled bathtub staring up at Danny. He thought she was dead, until the (dead woman) arose from the tub and tried to attack Danny. While Danny’s experiencing an attack from a dead woman, his mom Wendy was taking a nap, but was awakened by her husband screaming from his bizarre dream about his childhood experience with his father. When Jack was sleeping he heard his father’s voice saying “You have to kill him, Jacky, and her too. Because a real artist must suffer. Because each man kills the thing he loves” ( pg. 227). I am wondering why Jack is reminiscing about his horrible childhood with his father. I’m pretty sure that Wendy is wondering the same thin, since she ran to her husband’s s ide to comfort him after she heard his cries from his nightmare. I think that Jack’s father is telling him to kill Danny and his wife, which is weird because a previous caretaker of the hotel killed his family during the long snowbound winter with an ax.
Later on Mr. and Mrs. Torrance observed the absence of their son. They began to search the hotel, only to find him standing still with a horrid look on his face, and markings on his throat. I believe that the dead woman gave Danny those marks, but how? Isn’t the woman dead and if so how can she harm Danny? Is what Danny saw and experienced real? After Wendy saw her son with brutal markings around his neck, she automatically accused Jack of hurting Danny, even though Jack was nowhere near Danny. During Danny’s exploration of room 217, Jack was was in the hotel office sleeping. At this point I believe that Wendy has a trust issue with Jack. She doesn’t trust Jack because of the time when Jack was drunk and dislocated Danny’s arm because Danny threw Jack’s school papers around all over the floor. As a mom Wendy is probably thinking that Jack hurt Danny again because Danny was doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing which was entering room 217, just like the time Danny threw Jack’s school papers on the floor. The Torrances both know that Jack has had a drinking problem in the past and hasn’t been drinking for five months, but Jack now craves a drink every once in a while. I know this because when Jack was heavily drinking he picked up the habit of wiping his mouth with his handkerchief and unfortunately if Jack loses his temper and is drunk on top of it; things won’t be going well for the Torrances at the Overlook Hotel. I also wonder what other spooky things are going to be happening at the Overlook Hotel.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rJjjAPCaZ4s/SwVLs7mqJbI/AAAAAAAAAIY/0-GDoWubQc4/s1600/YBathroomDoor.jpg
This is a picture of the word redrum written on a door by Danny in red with his mom's red lipstick.I know these details because I actually saw Danny do this in a movie clip of The Shining. I chose this picture because it relates the book The Shining and how the entire time at the Overlook Hotel Danny has been having visions of this word. So when I went on google and I looked up redrum The Shining, and I found out that it's actually murder spelled backwards. This is kind of interesting because in the book Danny is five years old and is learning how to read so when he visions the word redrum, which is actually murder I guess he reads the word backwards.
(The Fault In Our Stars, John Green
ReplyDeletePages: 1-94)
I started a new book "The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green, it's about a girl named Hazel grace she has lung cancer and is force to joined a support group by her parents. In the support group she meets Augustus Waters who lost his right leg to osteosarcoma. When Augustus invites Hazel to his house, Hazel shares with him her Favorite book "An Imperial Affliction". The book becomes their bonding topic meaning, it's what brings them together. The book is also about a girl with cancer but at the end the story doesn't finish. The author finished the book before it said that she died or if she survived. What Hazel and Augustus noticed was that the author made the book realistic, the girl with cancer who was narrating the story never got a chance to finish the story because she died. Hazel knows she's sick and accepts the fact that she has a high chance of dying soon.
Usually all stories about cancer patients are sad and make you cry and all that stuff but this one is different it's funny, interesting and exciting. Recently I saw the movie "Now is Good" which Is based of the book "Before I Die" by jenny Downham. The Movie is about a girl named Tessa she is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She did chemotherapy for four years but she realize that her cancer is terminal and the doctors say she won't live for a long time. Tessa comes up with a list of things she wants to do before she dies. Some are illegal and some are just adventurous so she quits her chemotherapy to live her life like it's her last day. Tessa does this Radio interview where the host feels sympathy for her and it bothers her that people have to act fake around her just cause she's sick. I thought "Now Is Good" was so similar To "The Fault In Our Stars" not because they both are sick but because of they way they see their life. Their perspective is realistic and I feel like it gives you a feel of how a Cancer Patient actually feels than what we see on those cancer commercials where they just make you feel sad for them. Both Hazel and Tessa know their sick and Know they might die soon. both talk about how they see life and they even meet a boy. Hazel never thought she would be dating a boy like Augustus, handsome and charming. One of Tessa's wish was that she finds true love and she did she found Adam who at first didn't know how to handle having a sick girlfriend but then was with her till the last second she was alive. Yes, Tessa dies at the end since she quit her Chemotherapy the cancer spread quickly and she passed away. I didn't like that she died but I liked that the author didn't do a happily ever after like every story, because in the really world sadly, not every cancer patient survives. Just like the book Hazel and Augustus were talking about they girl who never finished narrating the book because she died. Some people might think the authors have no heart or they ruined the story by killing off the main character but in reality, the authors don't want to fool their readers by lying to them saying everything is better at the end because that's not true not everybody has that happily ever after we all want.
Kaige Barnabei
ReplyDeleteMrs. Dima
Hoop Dreams
3/6/14
This week I’ve read from page 1 to 28 in my book Hoop Dreams by Ben Joravsky. Now that I’m further into my book the issues I’m starting to see, is how one of the main characters, Arthur Agee, is living on the west side of Chicago is surrounded by violence, street gangs, and open drug use. Arthur however, isn't influenced by his surroundings. He’s in the eighth grade and spends most of his time at the Delano street ball courts, on Wilcox near the Expressway. It’s July of 1987 and one day Arthur catches the eye of Big Earl, a high school scout who watches most of the inner city kids. “I can arrange a visit if you’re interested. I scout for St. Joe’s.” (Big Earl 19) Arthur is invited by Big Earl to play basketball for St. Joseph’s, a catholic school also attended by Arthur’s idol, Isaiah Thomas. Another issue Arthur faces comes when he makes the decision to go to St. Joseph’s. Arthur has a strong family at home, but isn’t the most well of financially. His father can’t keep a job and that doesn’t look good, considering the fact the tuition for St. Joseph’s is about $2,000 a year. Another issue Arthur see’s in his future is the heavy load of homework he’ll be taking home every day, he’ll need to learn to concentrate and stay out of the trouble surrounding him.
https://www.google.com/search?q=hoop+dreams+ad&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=qwUZU-aAI6vO2QX_1oCQAQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1280&bih=671#q=Lebron+James+high+school&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=oMLOIOeXE56b6M%253A%3BbJL5zTMIBHujLM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimg.printstown.com%252Fsportingnews%252F2003_05_26_LEBRON_JAMES_LARGE.JPG%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fsportingnews.printstown.com%252FProdDetail.aspx%253FprodId%253D33501%3B300%3B350
This is an image of present day Miami Heat super star, LeBron James. This image of LeBron, in high school, on the cover of Sports News relates perfectly to the struggles Arthur will face when he’s in high school. I say this because they come from similar backgrounds. Both come from poverty in harsh neighborhoods, and both use basketball as an escape. LeBron as well went to a catholic school and struggled with the spotlight at such a young age. They both face the struggle of critics watching their every move waiting for them to show a flaw. They both are burdened with the expectations of super stardom.
Mariana Padilla
ReplyDeleteEnglish 2 Honors
Mrs. Dima
6 March 2014
Angels on Sunset Boulevard, Melissa De La Cruz (pages 101-232)
Now that I’ve finished reading my book I realized that the issues it touched upon in a teen’s life such as relationships, social networking, popularity, drugs, and alcohol all in the end came to the whole book’s main theme. We are not who we really are, we are what society created us to be. Taj and Sutton created Johnny Silver, they confessed it on page 209. “Johnny had posed for it. And they’d made up the whole background for him: the homeschooled rumor, the weird fetishes- they’d made him up. Johnny Silver didn’t exist really. He was their creation. It was a costume, like the skinny suits Johnny wore.” I still question why do we keep trying to be accepted by society, when in the end we’re still criticized. And why say we’re all different and original when we wear a “suit” society made for us. This goes on a lot now a days especially because we’re all just trying to fit in. Girls being influenced by other girls to dress pretty or change their image to get noticed but they never express their true style. Guys chugging down bottles of alcohol, rolling up blunts, and picking fights to be in a clique. It’s all out of control. Where is our individuality?
http://shriekingmonkeys.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/strings_of_the_government_by_shimpo1.jpg
This image I found can be easily connected to the theme of Angels on Sunset Boulevard and my opinion. It shows a girl wearing a white dress and ballerina shoes. She’s looking up pass the strings attached to her with a look of worry in her expression. The way I see this connecting to my book is that Johnny is the girl and he’s looking up at the puppet master who were Taj and Sutton. Johnny didn’t really have the choice to be the rock star he could’ve made himself to be. Instead he was just the face and Taj was the brain and source of music. Sutton was just extra help making Johnny famous. Proving my point that we are what people want us to be.
Ayslinn Rafferty
ReplyDeleteEnglish 2 Honors
Mrs. Dima
6 March 2014
Legends, Editor Robert Silverberg, page 392
Portal, Valve, 2007 Video Game.
Portal 2, Valve, 2011 Video Game.
While in "Legends," there is no main theme, I shall focus on the theme of one of the novelettes, specifically "The Sea and the Little Fishes," by Terry Pratchett. The theme of this story was, essentially, do not try to change a person. The council learns this quite quickly through Granny Weatherwax, who upsets the balance of the games by simply being nice. Which, in all honesty, was exactly what they had asked her to do. By inverting the in universe fact of life, "Scratch any witch and…well, you'd be facing a witch you'd just scratched,"(12) she essentially showed the council why it shouldn't try to force her out or force her to be different. This theme is addressed in many literatures, but the most prominent one I can currently think of is the "Portal" game series, which addresses this in a largely different manner. The games, an representation of an abusive relationship, shows the other side of this, in which trying to change(note: in the games killing often represents change) each other really just ends up hurting both parties. Though, admittedly, one party is a narcissistic, murderous artificial intelligence and the other is a player-avatar on a set path, when the game ends, the AI throws the player avatar out using the "don't expect people to change" theme as a base.
Both examples use abusive relationships, but the difference is in the aggressive levels and the relationship levels. In "The Sea and the Little Fishes," the abusiveness lands in acquaintanceships, and is more verbally passive while mentally active, whereas in the "Portal" series, the relationship is more meant to resemble a sort of love-hate turned mostly hate, with the abuse being both verbally and physically aggressive, exemplified by, "Despite your violent behavior, the only thing you've managed to break so far is my heart,"(Final area) in which the both the AI and the player-avatar are attempting to off one another. In Granny Weatherwax's situation, she is being verbally agressed by a council member in an attempt to make the games more profitable, and, while she remains verbally passive, she retaliates mentally. In both cases, everyone goes their separate ways at the end, and things return to what can be assumed to be a sort of personality status quo.
Paola Flores
ReplyDelete"The perks of being a wallflower"
By Stephen Chbosky
English 2 honors
Ms.Dima
I got up to page 98 from page 48. (Couldn't find my book for a while.) My book has me thinking more on people and their ways of accepting love and how they deal with their emotions. In page 96 he writes "and all you want is to always feel happy for them because you know that if you do, then it means that you're happy, too." He writes this because he feels that if she's happy then he would be happy too. We depend our love on other people or objects. If the person we truly love is happy then we feel happy because their happiness goes before our own happiness. We don't always realize it but we depend on something or someone to feel happy. We depend on them so we can go back to them when our hearts need comfort. They fill the gaps or emptiness in our hearts. One of the most popular quotes from this book is "we accept the love we think we deserve." If we feel like we should receive love we accept it ; if we feel not good enough we don't accept the love.
http://uniquemojo.blogspot.com/2013/12/normal-0-false-false-false-en-in-x-none.html#gpluscomments
(The second picture)
They are similar because they both have the same idea of dealing your emotions. The image I chose talks about how self harm helps us deal with our emotions. We hurt ourselves because we don't feel good enough or we can't deal with our emotions. But self harm isn't just cutting our skin but also being in a unhealthy diet and being mean to our own bodies. The book and the image both share the idea of feeling like an outsider but can't fit in. The image talks or shows more how upsetting it can be in life not feeling accepted or feel like dying. Like death is the option to escape the problems of life. Yet the book is more focused on love; how we need love in our hearts. The image says "how it hurts to smile". That means you try to smile yet you know the same is fake or forced on. In the book it says" I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be possible."(page 2). In both quotes they are both dealing with mix of emotions. They feel like they have to be happy but in reality they feel sadness.
Anthony Livingston Livingston 1
ReplyDeleteWho killed Mr.Griffin by: Lois Duncan
English 2 honors
Mrs. Dima
Blog post 3
I am currently in the last 20-30 pages of my book and I must say this is a great read for all of those who like school Drama and mystery. This book is full of plot twists and turns. I would like to give my favorite part of the Book to me that fueled the story and made it what it really is, you fail. The incident , (I don't wan to give away the story) happened all because of that word "failure". The whole story is surrounded by the actions that the character is the book choose to do because in their case one thing leads to another with an unexpected ending or outcome. This had me thinking about how far kids will go to shirk their responsibilities and expect to come out successful without thinking that success is earned not give. Me myself sometimes has a problem with this. This quote that I might have used before is the theme of the story,
"It's only by facing things that you ever put them behind you".
This quote is the moral of the story and sums up what the kids needed to do instead of trying to prank someone for them doing right not just making people happy but preparing them for the real world.
http://www.thenerdyteacher.com/2013/12/smiling-as-my-students-fail-edchat.html?m=1
This ad / quote appeals to the story and me. The ad and the book are similar because the ad is almost the summary of the whole book. This ad is no way different because the whole book was filled with failure and instead of learning, Susan, mark , Jeff , Betsy , and , David all dig themselves deeper in the hole by trying to take shortcuts