I've learned a lot about myself from creating and keeping up a blog. I noticed the things I focus on when I read, and I learned how to really slow down and take in things while I read. I noticed that I like to blog about character relationships the most. I think doing that helped me understand the book more.
I think I benefited from doing blog posts. I used to never really think or write about the books I read. But now it sort of just comes naturally to ask questions to myself while I read. And for me, I think writing on a blog is the same as writing in a notebook, because you're still getting your thoughts out.
I think writing online can be liberating because its easier to change things and edit and make yourself sound a certain way before you post it. However, I think it can also be limiting because once something has been sent, you can't take it away.
I personally feel more "real" online, but I think some people just make personalities that show only the good things about them. I mean it's certainly easier to be fake online because you aren't right in front of the people you are talking to so lying becomes easier for some because they don't even have to look at the other people.
I definetly think that teens abuse the freedom we have online. Like I said, lying becomes much easier, and people like doing easy things. People say things they would never say to someone's face. I think it's because being online gives people this sort of boost of confidence and bravery to just be absolutely horrible to one another. Also, people won't feel as bad, because they aren't saying this online, they're simply typing words. Also, the feeling of being anonymous gives people this idea that it doesn't matter what they say, because they won't get caught. I think this is horrible because it makes people less in touch with reality and how you're supposed to be towards one another in life.
I don't think I'll be keeping up this blog, or creating another one. But I do think that blogs can be very beneficial to people when it comes to thinking about their reading.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
The Secret Life of Bees
I finished the secret life of bees by Sue Monk Kidd. in the story, the main character Lily Owens has a really complicated relationship with her mom who died. The way she feels about her mom and her mom's death is constantly changing.
At the beginning of the book, Lily completely idolizes her mom. Like when she saw a picture of her, she kept saying to herself how beautiful her mom was, and how she wanted to be just like her. She also imagined all the things her and her mom did together, even though she really has no idea because she was only 4 when her mom died. One of the things Lily says is "My mother's name was Deborah. I thought that was the prettiest name I'd ever heard...". She basically just paints this picture of her mom being perfect and caring and loving and amazing.
Towards the end of the book however, Lily's feelings totally change when she finds out something. Lily finds out that she was unplanned, and that the day her mom died she was actually going to leave her and her dad. "" I hate her. She wasn't anything like I thought she was". I'd spent my life imagining all the ways she'd loved me, what a perfecft specimen of a mother she was. And all of it was lies. I had completely made her up"". Lily even says that she wished her mother had rotted in the mental institution that she was briefly in. I found this so shocking because it was such a drastic change in tone from the way she usually talked about her mother. It was almost like Lily had become another person.
In the end, something I also find interesting was that the house Lily was staying in was full of women. So in a way it was like even though she lost her one birth mother, she gained 4 new "mothers" that loved her in the same way and cared about her.
At the beginning of the book, Lily completely idolizes her mom. Like when she saw a picture of her, she kept saying to herself how beautiful her mom was, and how she wanted to be just like her. She also imagined all the things her and her mom did together, even though she really has no idea because she was only 4 when her mom died. One of the things Lily says is "My mother's name was Deborah. I thought that was the prettiest name I'd ever heard...". She basically just paints this picture of her mom being perfect and caring and loving and amazing.
Towards the end of the book however, Lily's feelings totally change when she finds out something. Lily finds out that she was unplanned, and that the day her mom died she was actually going to leave her and her dad. "" I hate her. She wasn't anything like I thought she was". I'd spent my life imagining all the ways she'd loved me, what a perfecft specimen of a mother she was. And all of it was lies. I had completely made her up"". Lily even says that she wished her mother had rotted in the mental institution that she was briefly in. I found this so shocking because it was such a drastic change in tone from the way she usually talked about her mother. It was almost like Lily had become another person.
In the end, something I also find interesting was that the house Lily was staying in was full of women. So in a way it was like even though she lost her one birth mother, she gained 4 new "mothers" that loved her in the same way and cared about her.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
I've just finished reading the book The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Throughout the book there has been a lot of things to think about and notice. But, there was one thing that really stood out to me. It's about the relationships between the couples in the book throughout most of the book.
So I've noticed that the adult relationships in the book are extremely dysfunctional and full of secrets and problems while the teen relationships seem to be strong and have a lot of potential to last a long time. I thought this was pretty interesting considering it's not what I would expect. For example, in the book Susie's parents' marriage has a lot of problems. Susie's mom cheats on her dad and doesn't tell him about it. Also, Susie's mom's relationship with the guy she cheated with is also bad, because she just ends up leaving him. Ray's parents also have a bad relationship. Sometimes in the book his mom (Ruana) will be by herself thinking about divorce and how it'd probably be a good idea, because Ray's dad is never home and they have grown extremely distant.
The teen relationships are completely different though. Lindsey ( Susie's little sister) and her boyfriend Samuel have seemingly perfect relationship. They both trust each other a lot, and it's obvious that they really truly love and care about each other. I can't remember a part in the book where they ever even have the slightest little disagreement. Ray and Ruth's relationship also is really meaningful. They share the same interests and seem to be really mature, which in a way is a thing that the adult relationships are missing.
Overall, it's obvious that in this case the adults could really learn a lot from their children. Even though it is a little odd that the teen relationships seem to be more mature and seem to have more potential than the adult relationships. I also think that if the adults had better relationships it definetly would have changed the course of the book a lot.
So I've noticed that the adult relationships in the book are extremely dysfunctional and full of secrets and problems while the teen relationships seem to be strong and have a lot of potential to last a long time. I thought this was pretty interesting considering it's not what I would expect. For example, in the book Susie's parents' marriage has a lot of problems. Susie's mom cheats on her dad and doesn't tell him about it. Also, Susie's mom's relationship with the guy she cheated with is also bad, because she just ends up leaving him. Ray's parents also have a bad relationship. Sometimes in the book his mom (Ruana) will be by herself thinking about divorce and how it'd probably be a good idea, because Ray's dad is never home and they have grown extremely distant.
The teen relationships are completely different though. Lindsey ( Susie's little sister) and her boyfriend Samuel have seemingly perfect relationship. They both trust each other a lot, and it's obvious that they really truly love and care about each other. I can't remember a part in the book where they ever even have the slightest little disagreement. Ray and Ruth's relationship also is really meaningful. They share the same interests and seem to be really mature, which in a way is a thing that the adult relationships are missing.
Overall, it's obvious that in this case the adults could really learn a lot from their children. Even though it is a little odd that the teen relationships seem to be more mature and seem to have more potential than the adult relationships. I also think that if the adults had better relationships it definetly would have changed the course of the book a lot.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Romeo and Juliet
Betrayal: it's a huge recurring issue in the play. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, its clear that betrayal is an important theme in the book. In the book, Romeo and Juliet love each other, even though they aren't supposed to. Now even though Romeo and Juliet do love each other, there's nothing to prove that they wouldn't somehow betray each other, because throughout the play they both betray the people they love, and they even sometimes betray the same people.
Throughout the play, Romeo betrays the people he loves. First, Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet is a Capulet. The Montagues and the Capulets are two families who absolutely hate each other. " Two households, both alike in dignity" (prologue.1). Romeo betrays his family by being with Juliet. In the book Romeo says " Is she a Capulet? O dear account, my life is my foe's debt" (1.5.131-132). This shows that Romeo realizes that Juliet is a Capulet, but continues to pursue a relationship with her even though this goes against his family. As well as betraying his family, he also betrays his very close best friend Mercutio. Juliet's cousin Tybalt is the one who kills Mercutio. And despite this fact, Romeo still decides to be with her. Even though he knew Mercutio for a very long time, and he just met Juliet. But he doesn't seem to have a problem with doing both his family and Mercutio wrong.
Juliet also betrays the people she's supposed to love and care about. Her family are Capulets, and it's not as if she wasn't aware that Romeo was a Montague because the Nurse told her. "His name is Romeo, and a Montague; the only son of your great enemy" (1.5.150-151). And in response to this Juliet says " My only love sprung from my only hate!" (1.5.152). Here it's clear that Juliet knows that she is supposed to hate Romeo, but she obviously does not. Juliet also betrays her cousin Tybalt. After Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt. When Juliet gets this news she says " My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain, and Tybalt's dead, that would have slain my husband" (3.2.115-116). Here she's basically saying that it's ok that Tybalt's dead, because it's better him dead than Romeo. It's hard to believe that Juliet could betray her cousin over Romeo.
Romeo and Juliet occasionally betray the same people. They both betray the Nurse, by making her be a messenger between them, instead of them talking to each other. Rome once said to the Nurse "And there she shall at Friar Lawrence's cell, Be shrived and married [ offering her money]" (2.4.185-186). Romeo knows that the Nurse could get in trouble by even talking to him, let alone passing along messages to Juliet. Juliet also sends the Nurse off to tell Romeo things like " O, find him! Give this ring to my true knight, And bid him to come to take his last farewell [Giving the Nurse a ring]" (3.3.155-157). As well as the Nurse, they both betray Friar Lawrence. They ask Friar to marry them, knowing that he isn't supposed to ( it's practically illegal because there are certain precautions they didn't take), and that Friar could be in serious trouble if their families ever found out. Romeo and Juliet both ask things of people knowing that their request are really dangerous.
Overall, Romeo and Juliet both betray a lot of people many times. Even their own families. It would only make sense that if they can betray their families- the very people that raised them- they could betray each other. After all, they don't sem to have a problem with betraying other people they love, so who's to say they wouldn't betray each other next?
Throughout the play, Romeo betrays the people he loves. First, Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet is a Capulet. The Montagues and the Capulets are two families who absolutely hate each other. " Two households, both alike in dignity" (prologue.1). Romeo betrays his family by being with Juliet. In the book Romeo says " Is she a Capulet? O dear account, my life is my foe's debt" (1.5.131-132). This shows that Romeo realizes that Juliet is a Capulet, but continues to pursue a relationship with her even though this goes against his family. As well as betraying his family, he also betrays his very close best friend Mercutio. Juliet's cousin Tybalt is the one who kills Mercutio. And despite this fact, Romeo still decides to be with her. Even though he knew Mercutio for a very long time, and he just met Juliet. But he doesn't seem to have a problem with doing both his family and Mercutio wrong.
Juliet also betrays the people she's supposed to love and care about. Her family are Capulets, and it's not as if she wasn't aware that Romeo was a Montague because the Nurse told her. "His name is Romeo, and a Montague; the only son of your great enemy" (1.5.150-151). And in response to this Juliet says " My only love sprung from my only hate!" (1.5.152). Here it's clear that Juliet knows that she is supposed to hate Romeo, but she obviously does not. Juliet also betrays her cousin Tybalt. After Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt. When Juliet gets this news she says " My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain, and Tybalt's dead, that would have slain my husband" (3.2.115-116). Here she's basically saying that it's ok that Tybalt's dead, because it's better him dead than Romeo. It's hard to believe that Juliet could betray her cousin over Romeo.
Romeo and Juliet occasionally betray the same people. They both betray the Nurse, by making her be a messenger between them, instead of them talking to each other. Rome once said to the Nurse "And there she shall at Friar Lawrence's cell, Be shrived and married [ offering her money]" (2.4.185-186). Romeo knows that the Nurse could get in trouble by even talking to him, let alone passing along messages to Juliet. Juliet also sends the Nurse off to tell Romeo things like " O, find him! Give this ring to my true knight, And bid him to come to take his last farewell [Giving the Nurse a ring]" (3.3.155-157). As well as the Nurse, they both betray Friar Lawrence. They ask Friar to marry them, knowing that he isn't supposed to ( it's practically illegal because there are certain precautions they didn't take), and that Friar could be in serious trouble if their families ever found out. Romeo and Juliet both ask things of people knowing that their request are really dangerous.
Overall, Romeo and Juliet both betray a lot of people many times. Even their own families. It would only make sense that if they can betray their families- the very people that raised them- they could betray each other. After all, they don't sem to have a problem with betraying other people they love, so who's to say they wouldn't betray each other next?
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
I've started reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It's narrated by the main characters Suzanne "Susie" Salmon who was murdered and is now in heaven. In the book, Susie will switch between a memory and the present a lot, sometimes it makes sense with the present, and sometimes its not so obvious.
For example, in the beginning of the book she goes from describing how living in heaven is in detail. She says " I could not have what I wanted most: Mr Harvey dead and me living. Heaven wasn't perfect. But I came to believe that if I watched closely, and desired, I might change the lives of those I loved on Earth.......... My father was the one who took the phone call on December ninth. It was the beginning of the end. " Something I thought was weird was how she said "heaven wasn't perfect" because that's basically the complete opposite of what people think. I also noticed how she usually has flashbacks of sad moments on Earth, rather than extremely happy ones. This is one of the things that makes the book have such a heavy, sad, tone (besides the fact that she's dead). She Also, sometimes it's hard to figure out why she switches to certain things in the past, because sometimes it seems as if those things have nothing to do with each other, and that they are completely unrelated.
Because I haven't gotten that far in the book, I've also noticed that it's kind of hard to tell what Susie's personality is. I think that she always looks down on Earth because that's the thing she wants the most. To be alive again, to go to school, to live with her family and friends. It was stuff she didn't really think about before she died, but now she realizes that those little things make a big difference now.
For example, in the beginning of the book she goes from describing how living in heaven is in detail. She says " I could not have what I wanted most: Mr Harvey dead and me living. Heaven wasn't perfect. But I came to believe that if I watched closely, and desired, I might change the lives of those I loved on Earth.......... My father was the one who took the phone call on December ninth. It was the beginning of the end. " Something I thought was weird was how she said "heaven wasn't perfect" because that's basically the complete opposite of what people think. I also noticed how she usually has flashbacks of sad moments on Earth, rather than extremely happy ones. This is one of the things that makes the book have such a heavy, sad, tone (besides the fact that she's dead). She Also, sometimes it's hard to figure out why she switches to certain things in the past, because sometimes it seems as if those things have nothing to do with each other, and that they are completely unrelated.
Because I haven't gotten that far in the book, I've also noticed that it's kind of hard to tell what Susie's personality is. I think that she always looks down on Earth because that's the thing she wants the most. To be alive again, to go to school, to live with her family and friends. It was stuff she didn't really think about before she died, but now she realizes that those little things make a big difference now.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Non-fiction post
Article:
The article was basically about how women writers are now being put in a different category on Wikipedia. Like for example: before on Wikipedia, Harper Lee would have been in the "American Novelists" section. Now she's in the "american women novelists". When asked, Wikipedia said the American Novelists list " is too long, and therefore the novelists have to be put in subcategories whenever possible." Also, Wikipedia is doing this alphabetically so women authors with names later in the alphabet have not yet been bumped down to being on the women's list.
Wikipedia’s Sexism Toward Female Novelists
By the way this was written, I think the author wants me to feel angry or upset. The author wants me to think that this is really unfair and sexist and that something should be done. The author also makes a lot of craft moves to show their feelings on the issue. Like for example in one line the author says " too bad there isn't a subcategory for American Men Novelists". I can tell she's being sarcastic and seems upset about the fact that only women have to be put in a subcategory because the main list is too long, while the men don't. The author also says "It’s probably small, easily fixable things like this that make it harder and slower for women to gain equality in the literary world." Which shows her feelings. Something else: I found it clever to add in the article that the author is both a woman and a writer. This surprised me because it made me feel concerned about her because she herself might have experienced being put in a subcategory herself. So adding that little sentence at the end made the article made it feel much more personal.
I've learned a lot from reading this article. I was completely unaware that this was going on on Wikipedia. I've been on it recently, it just hasn't crossed my mind that only women are being put in the subcategory. But now that I know about it, I kind of agree with the author in a way. It's completely unfair, but then again- everything in life is unfair so is this really the biggest problem we have? I'd also like to know if Wikipedia only started changing this because there was a complaint, or if they really understood how unfair they were being.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier
I finished the book The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier. I though that it was a really shocking, good book that can also be a little confusing. In the book the main character Jason changes dramatically by the end of the book.
The change Jason underwent was kind of scary. I had no idea he had it in him to be able to even think about comitting murder. I think this is because of how intense his interrogation was. And the fact he was made to confess to the crime of killing a 7 year old girl, when it was proven that he didn't. I really wish there was a second book, so i could see if Jason changed again, or if he is still being affected by the interrogation.
At first in the beginning Jason seems like a very timid kid who doesn't have many friend, and is really nice and caring. For example: when in class, Jason wouldn't raise his hand ever in class, even if he knew the answer because he didn't want attention on him. Also, Jason would feel alone all the time, even if he is around other kids his age, because of how quiet and reserved he is. From basically the very beginning to close to the end of the book, Jason kept up with this personality of being very quiet and just kind of staying to himself a lot.
Near the end of the book, Jason completely changes. He goes from being reserved to really paranoid and basically insane. At the end, an interrogator makes Jason admit to a crime he didn't do. This completely messes his mind up completely. He then never wants to be alone, and always has the windows wide open because he would feel like he was suffocating (because there were no windows in the interrogation room). The book says : " Look, you already said you could do it, that you did it to little Alicia, when you could never do anything like that to her. But what about someone you could do it to? Like who? Like, oh, maybe Bobo Kelton." In this part he is basically talking out loud to himself about how since he said he could kill little Alicia, he could kill Bobo. ( Bobo was a boy who used to bully him). The last sentence of the book is "Then he went into the kitchen and took the butcher knife out of the drawer". This shocked me so much. I couldn't believe that it was the same person. It was so hard to believe Jason went from helping Alicia with jigsaw puzzles to getting ready to murder Bobo Kelton.
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