Welcome to our English 11 blogspot!
We will use this as an online forum to discuss readings and conversation topics related to our course. For the first assignment, please answer the following in one complete, well-written paragraph. Use the comment button below the post to answer:
1. Briefly summarize your summer reading selection.
2. Discuss the main theme of the work.
3. Select and explain the main literary technique/techniques used by the author to develop this theme.
4. Provide a recommendation for your blog readers. Would you recommend your summer reading selection to other readers? Why or why not? What did you most like or dislike about it? To whom would you recommend it?
When you post a comment, complete the following steps:
1) Look for the comment box below the post.
2) Write your comment carefully. Read it over for grammar or spelling errors. If necessary, type your comments in word and cut/paste them into the "comment" space. You will lose points for sloppy work.
3) When posting, use the "name/url" function. Type your FIRSt NAME AND LAST INITIAL.
4) Press post.
5) I will read your post and "OK" it. It will then appear on the blog.
Atonement by Ian McEwan
ReplyDeleteby C.Smith
If you knew for a fact that you'd ruined someone's life- two lives, really- how would you make amends? This is exactly what the title of Ian McEwan's novel Atonement asks.
The main theme of this novel,atoning for one's sins, is mainly based on one action- one decision, one moment, one crime- that is to be followed by life-changing consequences that would affect every character in the plot over the course of six decades.
The novel begins shortly before World War II at the estate of a wealthy family in England and continues through the war into present day.The development of its plot stems from the extraordinary imagination of the narrator, a creative young girl named Briony Tallis. Naive and uncertain, Briony is a young writer who has a crush on Robbie Turner, an older college-age worker at the estate. Robbie, however, has begun a passionate love affair with Briony's older sister Cecilia. Through a love letter that Robbie intended for Cecilia, Briony encounters a passionate love scene involving the two adults. Because she is young and naive, Briony misunderstands this love scene to be an attack on her sister. When her cousin Lola is later attacked by an unknown individual later in the evening, Briony is certain that Robbie is the rapist. Though she did not see the face of the rapist, she lies to authorities and accuses Robbie. Her testimony sends Robbie to jail- which eventually turns out to be the novel's point of no return.
Atonement is certainly one of the most brilliant books I have read, with a lot of surprises and sequences of events that I did not expect. Clearly,the author uses the dynamic characterization of Briony to illustrate how a character can grown, learn and develop even after a terrible decision. After Briony accuses Robbie, everyone's lives, including her own, take a terrible turn for the worst, and Briony realizes that this terrible decision will produce an endless chain of tragic outcomes. After realizing the cost of her tragic mistake, Briony spends the rest of her life trying to atone for her accusation, but as the reader learns, some decisions can never be repaired, and some crimes can never be forgiven.Through Briony's transition from naive to mature, the reader feels the weight of mistakes that cannot be undone.
Atonement is what Briony desperately tries to achieve but never succeeds. This theme makes this novel much more than a tragic love story. As a result, I give this novel a 5 out of 5 fish rating and suggest it to anyone who loves romantic novels that also have suspensful twists and turns.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven – by Mitch Albom
ReplyDeleteBy Nixon V.
Eddie is 83 years old when this story begun and it’s his birthday. He goes to work like he has always done in his adult life in his job as head of maintenance at the Ruby Pier Amusement Park. When one of the rides breaks, he jumps to push a young girl out of the path of the falling car. He gets killed not knowing if he was able to rescue her or if they both died.
Now, in Heaven, a blue man approaches him. Eddie doesn't remember the man until reminded. This man had been in the freak show at the Ruby Pier Amusement Park when Eddie was a kid. Eddie's father had also worked at the park, so Eddie knew the place all his life. The Blue Man then starts talking about an incident that happened when Eddie was 8 or so. Eddie learns that before he is done he will speak with 4 more people and see his own life differently than he himself had while alive.
Do you ever wonder if your own life is important? Do you think that you haven't really made a difference in the world? Mitch Albom uses The Five People You Meet in Heaven to show that everyone is important and has an impact on the people around him or her. Things that mean nothing to me (or you) may affect other people's lives without me being aware of what has really happened.
For such a small book this one packs a lot into it. Albom's drawn picture of heaven in this novel doesn't fit my perception of heaven. But I can identify with the need to know what my life was all about. Eddie gets to review his life, find forgiveness, find redemption, and find what type of hero he was. This book brought me so much experience about how life is. This book was written succinctly and powerfully and I strongly recommend it to people that like a good story.
Of Mice And Men
ReplyDeleteJohn Steinbeck
By: Luis V.
The novel is set in California during the 1930’s. Two friends, George and Lennie, are farmers who travel for jobs. George cares for his friend Lennie, who is disabled. Lennie often gets them fired and causes trouble due to his disability. They hope to one day of their own to grow crops and have bunnies for Lennie. On the farm, they make friends and enemies, including the boss’s son Curley. When Lennie makes friends with Curley’s wife, he accidentally kills her and leaves George with a terrible decision to make. Should George allow Lennie to suffer at the hands of Curley’s men or should he protect him?
If you read this book, you will learn about friendship, compassion and sacrifice. Two themes we learn from the novel are the power of friendship and the difficulty of making tough choices. We mostly see these themes through the characterization of George and Lennie and the conflicts that they go through.
Out of all the books I read last year, this was the most interesting one because it was a good story and an interesting. I recommend it to read it.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
ReplyDeleteHave you ever been publicly humiliated in front of society for an unfair reason? In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a woman named Hester Prynne was humiliated publicly for an unfair reason. A theme in this book is sin. The Puritan society believed Hester Prynne committed a horrible sin – adultery. In the Puritan society, if you are a woman and your husband dies, you can not remarry until 7 years. Instead, Hester slept with a man named Dimmesdale the night she found out her husband was dead.
The setting of The Scarlet Letter takes place in Boston, Massachusetts and in the middle of the 17th century. This was during the time of the Puritans. The story was told in the third person narrative. Dimmesdale was a reverend in this society – a holy man, so this would be a huge crime. Later on, Hester haves her baby girl, Pearl, in prison. Hester had to wear a Scarlet A on her chest and stand in public, being humiliated, for the rest of her life. Later on, we find out that Hester’s dead husband, Roger Chillingworth, really isn’t dead, and he is here. He finds out what Hester did and he begins to torture, Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale.
The Scarlet Letter is a really great book. It talks about the Puritan traditions and how unfairly they treated women. It also talks about how strong a woman can be while being put down in society. The author uses round, dynamic characters such a Hester Prynne.
I recommend this novel to those who love romantic fiction.
-L.Thomas
The Scarlet Letter
ReplyDeleteby Nathaniel Hawthorne
Have you ever been publicly humiliated in front of society for an unfair reason? In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a woman named Hester Prynne was humiliated publicly for an unfair reason. A theme in this book is sin. The Puritan society believed Hester Prynne committed a horrible sin – adultery. In the Puritan society, if you are a woman and your husband dies, you can not remarry until 7 years. Instead, Hester slept with a man named Dimmesdale the night she found out her husband was dead.
The setting of The Scarlet Letter takes place in Boston, Massachusetts and in the middle of the 17th century. This was during the time of the Puritans. The story was told in the third person narrative. Dimmesdale was a reverend in this society – a holy man, so this would be a huge crime. Later on, Hester haves her baby girl, Pearl, in prison. Hester had to wear a Scarlet A on her chest and stand in public, being humiliated, for the rest of her life. Later on, we find out that Hester’s dead husband, Roger Chillingworth, really isn’t dead, and he is here. He finds out what Hester did and he begins to torture, Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale.
The Scarlet Letter is a really great book. It talks about the Puritan traditions and how unfairly they treated women. It also talks about how strong a woman can be while being put down in society. The author uses round, dynamic characters such a Hester Prynne.
I recommend this novel to those who love romantic fiction.
-L.Thomas
Drown-Junot Diaz
ReplyDeleteBy Alber Franco
Drown is very straight forward and explicit book that is seperated by ten short stories. In each chapter the setting is never the same and neither is the protagonist but each story involves the struggle of a Dominican male's struggles to survive in a world full violence, poverty, drugs, and crimes. The story is either taking place in Dominican Republic or Dominican neighborhoods in the suburban area of New Jersey.This young male,Yunior, is struggling to survive in his corrupt life of an absent father, drugs, and tedious jobs. Yunior's life is surrounded by bad influences which attach to him and makes his life change from a young sweet boy to a more brave hardened man.
This book displays alot of poverty which surrounds Yuniors life and also his family. The story shows how much of a struggle it can be when your poor and that it isnt fun at all. Papi,which is Yuniors father, shows his children the wrong things to do in life because they're poor and isn't able to show them the right way to do things. As a young boy Yunior was forced to lie and cheat his way around life because poverty struck him at an early age.
Reading this short story collection showed me how much of a struggle it can be when you first come to america and even how it is it other countries,such as Dominican Republic. If you like First-Person biographies, than I would highly recommend this story to you any day.
We Beat the Street
ReplyDeleteBy : Drs. Davis, Jenkins and Hunt
There so many kinds of friends, those who get you into trouble and those who want you to succeed what kind of friends to you want? This is exactly what this book is about, three friends trying to learn how to survive the ghetto side of Newark, New Jersey. Where as kids all they knew was their poverty, crime and especially drugs. As they meet in high school they made a pact that changed their life forever.
The main theme is survival because the protagonists of the book, George Jenkins, Rameck Hunt, and Sampson Davis had to learn how to survive their neighborhood and that includes their friends from there as well. In order to survive they had to rectify their actions and the way they thought of things. The more they were with their friends, the more trouble with the police they had. The pact became stronger as time when by and one of the protagonist said “Find others with goals like yours and stick with them.” Once you find them you can do anything in life.
The story begins when they were still in elementary school, ever since they were little kids, they loved school but always lied when they had a test that they failed to their friend in their neighborhood because they didn’t want to be made fun of or they were they clowns. As they grew older they had to sacrifices so many opportunities that they had in school but that never stopped them from making their dreams come true. As kids, they went to the doctors but they come from the ghetto side so as they walked in, they were amazed of every single thing that was around them. The author uses foreshadowing in the book, so many things they loved as kids made their dreams came true as they grew older. They ended up being doctors in their neighborhood and helping kids just like them believe in themselves.
I recommend this book because everything that happened there happened in real life. Many people didn’t believe in them and they proved them wrong. They followed what they believed and in the process made a wonderful friendship that never ended even after college.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
ReplyDeleteIn the play Macbeth , the main character Macbeth with his conscience. In the beginning of the story, he is approached by three witches that explain to him his destiny. But the witches told three prophecies and only two were for him. Banquo was with him and was told his sons would be king hereafter. But Macbeth's second prophecy was for him to be king. After his forst one came true he set out to become king in the quickest way he could. He becane a murdering tyrant with the help of his wife Lady Macbeth. After some of ther murders he started to hallucinate ghosts of the dead . In the end both him and his wife died.
The main theme of the work was that you should never have too much ambition. Macbeth had such a desire to become king that he would let anything or anyone get in his way.
I highly recommend this play to be read because shakespeare expresses different types of imagery and old english that is very interesting to read. He keeps you in supsense wondering what isgoing to happen next. A major dislike is thw wording may be difficult to read , cause of how ling ago the play was written. But out of all the shakespear plays i had read Macbeth is a very popular one , just like Romeo & Juliet.
The Lovely Bones
ReplyDeleteBy Jesus G.
The novel the Lovely Bones takes place in a small town near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and it was from the years 1973 to 1981. The Lovely Bones is a novel that revolves around the story of Susie Salmon's rape and murder. This tragedy was a result of her family's pain through out the story. This novel is told from the first person's point of view because it is told from the main character's version of heaven. She is looking down at her family as they tried to deal with her death.
A theme that is the most important in this novel is grief. The author of this book The Lovely Bones chose this theme because she wants us to know that facing a tragedy like this one in the book takes some people a long process to get over it but for others it takes them even longer. At the end Susie's family experiences the final stage of grief and accepts her death and start a new lifestyle.
I recommend the novel The Lovely Bones so others could read it because it is a very interesting novel and it caught my attention when I started to read and i knew it was going to be a good book, so i do recommended.
The Lovely Bones - by Alice Sebold
ReplyDeleteBy Alyssa S.
The novel The Lovely Bones by the writer Alice Sebold is one of the kind.Being a freshman at Syracuse University, the author was raped.(which relates to her novel.) It is a story of a teenage girl who, after being raped and murdered, watches from her personal Heaven as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives. Susie Salmon the protagonist of the novel introduces herself and gives the reader all the details of her murder. She was only 14 years old when she got murdered by her neighbor Mr.Harvey. Alice Sebold tells it from Susie's perspective, the dead victim tells her own story from heaven. Now just imagine if you were murdered at the age of 14 by your own neighbor, how would it affect the people you care?
The main theme of this novel is love and acceptance. When Susie died, all of her family was affected badly. They even separated from eachother and moved away, but they began to realize the had to move back. This theme shows how much we need eachother when we are at our lowest emotional level. When someone dies in our lives we believe we will never recover. The author uses her characters to teach us that with acceptance comes recovery for us all.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I also saw the movie. If you like stories that are a bit mysterious and have a twist read this book which is also told in 1st person even better! So what happened to the killer? Did they find him, kill him ? Read the book and find out! :D
To Kill a Mockingbird
ReplyDeleteHarper Lee
By: Jason T
Don't you think this is a cruel world, full of racism and inequality? Well, it sure was a cruel world during the 1930's. In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, an innocent colored man is convicted of rape of a teenage girl. One major theme in this novel is the existence and continuation of inequality. Tom Robinson, the innocent convict, is called to court for his trial. This handicapped, colored man is judged unfairly by a court full of racist, white people, sending him to jail, even though all reasons for sending him to jail, is wrong. He is sent to jail simply because of his color. This irrational decision affects the whole black community of the novel, telling them that they are the lowest in society. A colored person should not be punished just because of their skin color.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a great example of inequality, because a colored person is convicted, and taken away, for a horrible felony he did even commit. Throughout history, colored people were punished and treated unfairly because of their skin color. Even until this day, inequality is happening. Tom Robinson represents the mockingbird in the title of the book; the symbol of a mockingbird represents innocence and to kill a mockingbird, which in this case is Tom Robinson, is to destroy innocence. This theme is shown throughout the community of the novel, but mostly through the life of Tom Robinson, an innocent "mockingbird".
This novel taught me that life can be unjust and that inequality still lives on and can destroy the innocence in people. I strongly recommend this book to readers who like realistic-fictions.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
ReplyDeleteby Samantha R.
While Alice attended Syracuse University one day on her way home she was raped. Which relates to the novel about a fourteen year old girl who gets raped, murdered, and dismembered, the novel takes place in a small town near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1973 to 1981. The story is told from a first person point of view, its told from the main characters personalized version in heaven as she watches her family struggle from her death.
An important theme in the novel was Grief because it was a harsh and devastating experience and the author understood what the family went through. The victim Susie must grief on what happened to her and also to show us that people react differently when death happens and especially when the death is a horrible one like murder. The author wants us to know that it's extremely hard to deal with a death and it is a long process but in the end, Susie and her family experience the final stage of the grieving process which is acceptance and a new lifestyle.
Literary techniques used in the book were symbolism such as the icicle and the lovely bones because it represents Susie's body and brings the family closer. Also imagery like Susie's room because its where her family felt she was still alive. I really do recommend this book to anyone who likes books that are kind of mysterious and have to do with investigation and has a twist.
Ediwn Nunez
ReplyDeleteOne Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Do you feel that people shouldn’t be treated differently because they are a little different? In the novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey the main theme of the story is how society plays a role in how people are treated. The story takes place in a mental hospital on Oregon where the patients are treated unfairly. The protagonist, Randle McMurphy is a regular guy who was diagnosed as a psychopath. He is rebellious and doesn’t listen to the nurses in the hospital which makes him different from all the other patients. He gave them hope in many ways and helped them stand up against the unfair rules the hospital enforces. The antagonist, Ms. Ratched is manipulative and she always wants things to go her way. She tries whatever she can to shut McMurphy up and to keep the hospital in her hands. Ms. Ratched and the other nurses in the hospital treat the patients like if they were insane but McMurphy disagrees with them and he blames society for the way the patients are treated. Even though McMurphy was somebody you wouldn’t expect to be a hero he played an important role to the patients at the ward. Ken Kesey faced a similar experience when he worked nigh shifts at Menlo Park Veterans’ hospital. In the hospital he spoke with the patients and he believed that the patients were normal and not insane. This influenced him to write One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. The message of this story is to not judge a book by its cover because the patients at the hospital may look crazy but when you get to know them you find out that they are regular people just like everybody else. I didn’t expect this book to be that good until I read it and its one of my favorite books.
Tears Of a Tiger
ReplyDeleteBy: Sharon Draper
How would you feel if you caused the death of your best friend? Would you feel guilt for the rest of your life ? Or would you try to move on and accept the fact that accidents happen?
After a great victory of their Hazelwood High School basketball game, the stars of the team go out to a party where they then decided to drive while intoxicated on their way home. Which causes a horrific accident, where Rob, the best player on the team, dies. After the death of his best friend and fellow Hazelwood Tiger, Andy, the protagonist and driver of the car, blames himself and can not get past his guilt and pain. While his other friends have managed to work through their grief and move on, Andy allows death to become the focus of his life. In the months that follow the accident, the lives of Andy and his friends are traced by assignments, and dialogues. Reading this book you will learn life lessons on the themes of this book which are death and denial. You learn that when a friend dies its part of you who dies also. Its like a part of you goes with them. When something like this happens to you, you cant just get over it like if nothing happened, there’s always going to be some type of guilt left inside and this is how Andy felt. Now there’s one question left to ask. Do Tigers cry?
I would highly recommend this book any day to anybody. This book is as realistic as they get. Its all based on events that can and have happened to our generation, and im pretty sure one way or another most people can relate to this story.
To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
ReplyDeleteBy: Melvin H.
Scout and Jem Finch are growing up in Alabama town of Maycomb. Their father, Atticus, is the local lawyer and as a single parent tries to raise his children with honor and respect to their individualism even though with the great depression. To amuse them Scout, Jem, and their new best friend Dill begin a relentless campaign during their summertime to get Boo Radley, their reclusive, scary, legendary neighbor, to come out of his house. Atticus, urging the children to try to see life from another person’s perspective before making judgments.
Atticus is a good man, and one day takes on a case that affects him personally. A black man, Tom Robinson, is accused of beating and raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Most of the county is convinced immediately that Tom is guilty of the crime, and begin to look at Atticus in a very negative way for actually defending him and trying to do right thing. Scout and Jem begin to get tormented over their father at school, and Atticus begs them not to get angry over the town's negative judgment.
As the trial begins it becomes apparent to Scout and Jem that there is no way that Tom Robinson could have beaten and raped Mayella Ewell, as his left hand is not working. Atticus proves that to the jury, and Scout and Jem are impressed when Tom is slapped with a guilty verdict anyway. They begin to realize that many people in town are very judgment against blacks. It is hard for them to understand how people can be so mean to each other, and they both begin to see that, even in court where things are supposed to be fair and equal, men's hearts bring in their own hatreds.
It isn't much longer that Tom is shot and killed for trying to escape while in prison. Jem and scout learns that its a sin to kill a Mockingbird. After the trial has died down Bob Ewell, Mayella's father begins threatening Atticus for embarrassing him one way or another. Atticus is convinced that he's all talk, and didn’t really pay attention to it.
Time crawls past, and finally Bob Ewell is good to his word and attacks the children Halloween night with a knife. He breaks Jem's arm and almost kills Scout, but Boo Radley, of all people, comes to their rescue and saves them by killing Bob. The sheriff, Heck Tate, hushes the whole thing over so Boo Radley will not be dragged into the spotlight, and Scout is thrilled to finally get to meet the man they for so long fantasized about. As she walks him back home, she realizes that all this time he was watching them from his front porch windows, and just for a little while she is able to stand in his shoes.
This novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is all about teaching people a big lesson about being fair to people even though you don’t really know them or you haven’t get to know them. This novel say that you shouldn’t injured mockingbirds—innocents because they are harmful. I would recommend it to anyone that likes a good story.
K.Orzuna said…
ReplyDeleteThe Scarlet Letter
By Nathaniel Hawthorne
The novel takes place in Puritan, Boston, Massachusetts in the 17 century. During that time period many women didn’t have a lot of rights; if a woman had a child without a father they have already committed a huge crime which is called “adultery”. A woman named Hester Prynne went through a lot of hardships when she had a child without a father. The people said that there is no way women can do a men’s job while having a child to take care of it was impossible. It show how she lived or had to lived with guilt, humility, suffering. Once everyone in the village found out she had an illegitimate daughter people stared to judge her immediately .For the crime she had committed she had to wear a letter “A” on her clothes.
The main theme in this novel is the lesson of humanity and life; the town’s people were cruel and savage during the time period. Once you have committed a crime you were punished in certain ways that can harm you or kill you. It was a tradition with the society. But Hester was humiliated because she was accused of adultery she had to wear a letter “A”; she wouldn’t say who the child’s father was. Every day she had to stand in front of everyone while they criticize and insult her for her crime.
I would recommend this novel to people to see how Hester Prynne was judged to see the challenges she faced alone just because she had a baby with no father and suffered the consequences of not giving out the baby’s father name out.
BOOK: It Happened To Nancy summery
ReplyDeleteBY: Anonymous
The novel It Happened To Nancy by Anonymous, was written by a diary entry. Her story touched me in such a way that i read it twice and introduced it to my sister. Nancy was a 14 year a girl who was just a regular 14 year old girl. Didn't expect love, enemies or stress. She just lived life. One day, she and a friend, El, went to a concert. During the concert, Nancy had an asthma attack and couldn't find a way out, until someone helped her out. She didn't know who he was, but she was lucky that he had a sister who had asthma too. She thanked him and expected to just leave it at that, but they exchanged names and talked about each others lives. His name was Collins. They soon realized that they live near each other, so they made future plans. For some reason, Nancy decided to not tell anyone about Collins so El didn't know about him. One night, a couple days later, Nancy was home alone. She was suppose to sleepover El's house, but she wanted Collins to come over. Nancy told El that she had cramps and that she wanted to stay home that night. El, being a great friend, stayed on the phone with her until she locked all the doors. Meanwhile, Collins and Nancy are giggling about the lie. That night, everything was going perfect. Nothing could go wrong, until... Collins raped Nancy. The next morning Nancy didn't want to believe it, she blamed herself most of the time and then blamed him. She didn't know what to do, who to talk to or where to go. Her life was a complete mess. After telling El and her mom what happened, she went to the doctors. The doctors later tell Nancy that she's been infected with HIV/AIDS. Nancy was in complete shock. She knew then that her life was over.
I think this is a great book, and the best part is, it doesn't end with her finding out she had AIDS. The whole book kind of shows how she deals with it and how she coops with it. Since this book is a diary entry, you can see how she felt and how she reacted and how she dealt with it. I think this story is great for teenagers. You never know someone too well. It's hard to trust someone which is pretty scary. Hope you enjoy this book also!
Giselle C
ReplyDeleteDracula by Bram Stoker
Nothing is ever what it appears to be, especially if it’s in the point of view of the human eye. In Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula is a thrilling horror story about vampires. The story begins with Jonathan Harker’s journey to castle Dracula in Transylvania. During his journey to the castle the people he met along the way warned him of the evil and unnatural things that happen there; at the time he knows nothing about vampires or the super natural and decides to ignore the villagers’ warnings. When he arrives to castle Dracula he sees that nothing appears to be out of the ordinary, but as time passes during the duration of his stay he notices that things just aren’t right. At first everything is well but later Dracula’s attitude changes and Jonathan sees things that no one would believe if they never saw it for themselves. When he figures out that the count is a vampire he acknowledges the danger he is in and tries to kill Dracula with no success, he is trapped in the castle until the count tells him he can leave. Meanwhile in England Lucy has become Dracula’s victim and turns into a vampire herself. Her loved ones, though sad that she “died” of sickness know that they must kill her again to save the pureness of all Victorian women and do what is right for society. The real problem was trying to get to Dracula so that this problem could never occur again.
In this story the main theme is the female sexuality. The female sexuality or expression of it plays a big role; in the beginning chapters of the book Jonathan enters a room and falls asleep in it, when he awakes he finds three gorgeous women standing in front of him. Although he is in love and engaged he can’t help but find the women alluring and is sexually drawn to them. The women are no other then vampires and though he has an uneasy feeling about them he can’t help but feel drawn to their appearance and sound and is only focused on their demonic beauty. At that moment he would do anything they had wanted him to do, because he is a man he can’t react much but in a sexual way. Lucy also plays a part to the female sexuality. Lucy at first is innocent and unaware of the evil around her, she is pure and devoted to her husband-a model of a pure Victorian women, but when Dracula preys on her and turns her into a vampire she is no longer innocent pure. Dracula preys on the innocent and beautiful which was unfortunately Lucy, but when bites it’s like a wave of desire and lust, he “pollutes” his victims and his victims then do his bidding. Who can refuse a beautiful woman, who is not drawn to them? Though the men can sense the danger they can’t help but react in a sexual way.
Stoker uses foreshadowing to describe to his readers what is to come in the novel and uses imagery to get it through. When Stoker describes how Mina found Lucy sitting on the cliff with what appeared to be a man leaning over her neck gives an image into your head and tells you the events that will occur every night. Dracula is the man leaning over Lucy sucking her blood that eventually turns her into a vampire. This of course is ironic because she is a role model of pure Victorian womanhood that then turns into a voluptuousness demon.
If vampires, suspense and thrilling horror stories interest you then Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the perfect book for you. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a classical horror story because there is nothing better than a classic. What I liked about this book was that though this was written years ago the theme and point of the story is still around in today’s world and the book will leave you in suspense until the very end, you can never put it down.
Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger
ReplyDeleteThis novel was a very interesting book. What I really like about this book is that it talks about a teenage boy and his struggles in life. The main character Holden, deals with many problems that come his way during his journey. He figures out that he isn't a school guy and he is very antithesis from others. He tries to go back to his home but he is afraid of going.
The theme of this story has to deal with Holden's personality In a way that he almost lived a two face life.
Symbolism was a technique in this novel because Holden has a red hunters hat that he always wears and has with him so it is really a special thing to him. Irony is another technique because Holden calls many people phonies and he in some ways or in situation, he is as well a phony. He criticizes people in many ways and he doesn't realize that he does the same thing and he is criticizing him self as well.
I recommend this story to teenagers or even pre- teens who maybe think in a certain point of their life that they feel a certain type of loneliness or a certain type of failure anywhere not just in school. In some way I feel a connection between me and Holden we both struggle and try to find some love in some places and we don't realize that where searching in the wrong places. I liked this book because it shares what a teen has to put up in life. Guys who think that are all that. Guys who are just annoying, and a girl that just gets the guys attention and he falls in love or something like that. Like I said before I would mostly recommend this to teenagers and not really youngsters that are going off to college. Well maybe some that still have that kind of teenage attitude or feelings.
The novel Hoops by Walter Dean Myers is a book about teenagers and perseverance. The main character Lonnie is a young 17 year old boy from Harlem that loves basketball, and is trying to complete a goal. Lonnie’s goal is to try to accomplish his favorite sport in life and to get somewhere. It’s also about teaching someone to listen carefully to what they have to say. Even if Lonnie doesn’t want to listen to his coach or the rest of his peers, sometimes he has to.
ReplyDeleteThe protagonist of this story is Lonnie. In the beginning of the book, Lonnie has problems with Coach Cal. Lonnie doesn’t want to listen to Coach Cal because he is old and thinks he knows everything. It is only after he works with Coach Cal that he begins to like and respect him.
In the Citywide Basketball Tournament of Champions, Lonnie and his teammates have to play against many great basketball teams in order to win the championship. After they win the championship, Lonnie has to make a decision about whether or not to help Coach Cal. The book has a surprising ending.
I liked this book because it teaches me to help others and to make sure I listen to the person that’s trying to help me. Coach Cal helped Lonnie reach his goal of going to college and playing basketball.
"Teenage Love Affair"
ReplyDeleteHave you ever had your heart broken ? To give your love to someone who doesn’t care and to be lied to, by the one you love the most . Well this is Zsa-Zsa story . She is a young sassy teenage girl whose heart was broken physically abused and lied to by her boyfriend , whom she loved a lot .
In this novel Zsa-Zsa have many problems with her boyfriend Ameen . Who lies and cheats on her in the novel . Not to mention she had an abusive father who used to beat her mother all the time. In the novel Zsa-Zsa runs into a child hood friend , Malichi , who she finds out that she still have feelings for . She is torn between Malachi and Ameen. One night she caught Ameen in the club cheating and he beat her up in front of her friends. She was heart broken and confused . She then goes out with Malachi to try and forget about Ameen but it was hard for her. She was torn between both guys even though one was definitely not good for her. One day Ameen shows up at her door and asks to borrow her car and tells her how much he have changed , she believed him . She then gives him the keys which he had drugs in the car and was pulled over by the cops. Zsa-zsa felt hurt and trapped. Malachi found out what happened and he broke up with her . Now she has single and has no car . She then realized that she had done wrong and deletes Ameen from her memory and begs Malicha for forgiveness . Ameen calls her and tells her how sorry he was and tried to convince her to say the drugs were hers. She told him off and told him to forget about her. Some of these feelings that she had was from when she saw her dad beat up on her mom and her mom would still go back to him. Her behaviors draw concern to her mother, because she saw herself in her daughter so she tried to get her help. In the beginning it was rough but they worked things out. Malachi gave her another chance.
This author used the technique of foreshadowing because in the beginning she talks about seeing Malichi and how the feelings rush back to her even though she has a boyfriend and he had a girlfriend . Later in the book she ends up dating him and he breaks up with his girlfriend for Zsa-Zsa . She also uses irony because it had a twisted ending . I expected her to give up on Malachi and move on but she begs him for forgiveness and they end up together .
I would recommend this book to young readers . It’s an interesting book for teens and it has a lot of drama in it . It touches abuse with teenagers and dating. I loved every part of this book . This book had a very interesting story line and I would also recommend it to anyone who loves teenage drama and novels .
Team of Rivals
ReplyDeleteIt is generally agreed (outside of the South) that Abraham Lincoln was one of the great presidents of the United States. His story is well known. Rising to the presidency from repeated failure, Lincoln successfully fought to maintain the Union, freed the slaves, and urged leniency in reuniting the country after the Civil War. While discussing Lincoln’s leadership style, Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin reveals many interesting and surprising facts about his career.
The basic premise of the book is that Lincoln had the courage to choose his main rivals for the presidency to serve in his Cabinet. Lincoln was unafraid to elicit the advice of the very men that had challenged his beliefs and ideas leading up to his election. Lincoln carefully considered many viewpoints and worked toward building consensus among diverse opinions before making his decisions about the best interests of the country. Kearns shows Lincoln to be a man of great patience, open mindedness and self-confidence, all qualities that were crucial to his greatness.
What was perhaps most interesting in this book was how Lincoln changed during his eight years as President. Kearns shows that Lincoln was singularly unprepared for the office, and made many mistakes in judgment during the first years of the Civil War. Lincoln had always been against the emancipation of the slaves, believing that slavery should continue in the states where it already existed. He only agreed to emancipation when the war was going badly and he needed former slaves to serve the Union army. Even after emancipation, Lincoln believed that freed slaves could never become full participants in American society, and actually tried to remove former slaves to a colony in Haiti. It was only after observing the abilities of black soldiers and consulting with African American leaders like Fredrick Douglas that Lincoln advanced full citizenship for freed slaves.
We often speak of dynamic characters in literature. During his nearly eight years in office, Lincoln’s open-minded leadership style helped him to grow from an unknown, unaccomplished politician into perhaps the greatest political leader in our history. Team of Rivals is a fascinating study of this metamorphosis.
The Lovely Bones: by Alice Sebold
ReplyDeleteWhat will be like to be looking down from heaven? Look at your love ones doing thing’s you can’t do. Seen your little sister feel, explored and experienced things that you couldn’t because you got kill. Seen how your friends go to high school and not you.
Such as what happen to Susie Salmon is a normal fourteen-year-old girl, who just got her first kiss. Susie is looking forward to go to high school. In one minute everything changed, when she was stop on her way home from school. A man who wants to show her something in the cornfield stopped Susie. Susie trusts this man because he is a neighbor who knows her parents.
This, man George Harvey is a serial killer who rapes and murders Susie. After Susie is murder she is taken to heaven, she chooses to create her heaven in the image of her hometown high school. What Susie really wants is to go back to her family, with the people she loves. Susie wants to go back because she seeing how her family is forever changed as a result of her murder. Her parents are drifting apart. Abigail Susie’s mom wants run away from her feeling, where her father Jack, wants to confront those feelings head on. Jack Susie’s dad starts an investigation, with Len Fnerman’s an investigator. This investigation leads Jack to suspect of George Harvey.
Susie also watches, her killer George Harvey. She also learns in heaven the stories of all his victims. Susie sees how he dies her body, lies to her father and police. He runs from the crimes he committed.
The climax of a plot is the major turning point that allows the protagonist to resolve the conflict. This moment occurs when Susie has her greatest wish fulfilled: she makes love with Ray Singh through the miracle of entering Ruth’s body. This allows her to “grow up” and so enter the Heaven where she truly belongs.
The falling action is when it involves the wonderful experience between Ray and Susie through the miracle of her entrance into Ruth’s body. Also how Susie leaves her blessing with us “I wish you all a long and happy life.”
Anyone who likes the novels and after words have a sense that he/she has just learned something wonderful and dear. This novel is for you.
Twilight
ReplyDeleteStephanie Meyer
Science fiction novel
Bella is a teenager who moves to Forks, Washington with her father. She starts high school and meets Edward Cullen , a mysterious boy that Bella instantly feels attracted to. Little does she know , Edward is a vampire. Bella soon finds out Edward's secret but she doesn't care. They both know they are breaking every rule but they believe that love prevails.
Everlasting love is one theme shown in this book. Bella and Edward continued to see each other despite what others thought. They broke every rule to be together and proved that love overpowers anything.
Imagery is used to set the tone of this story. The author uses descriptive language to describe different scenes in the book. Some parts are scary but, other parts are enchanting. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a fantasy love story. The book is very long , but it is worth the time. After reading this book you will be eager to read the other books in the saga.
The Lost Boy by Dave Peltzer
ReplyDeleteBy Travis
This book is a sequel to the novel to "Child Called It." What is book is about is that a boy named Dave who has been living with with his abusive mother for long time. She forces him to work in the housem, hits him constantly with objects, doesn't even feed him, and sometimes makes him sleep outside. He was forced to endure this type of abuse at such a young age. For him this was normal.
One day his mom kicks him out the house and thats when he learns what the outside world is like and realizes that this was not how a normal boy should be treated. He meets new people that would change his life forever and learns of what became of his father during his childhood. There is a lot of dramatic irony in this book because since is not used to the outside world, his mother had manipulated him into thinking that he was a bad boy and that everything he was doing was wrong.
This book is mostly a memior of the authors childhood. If you read this book you can't help but feel a connection to this book. As this book touches your feelings you will not want to put it down.
The Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold
ReplyDeleteby Maia H.
Have you ever wondered what life would be like after you died ? Well here is the story of Susie Salmon, a 14 year old girl who is raped and murdered by her creepy neighbor Mr. Harvey. Susie still lives in 'Her Heaven' where she watches her family grieve and try to discover who killed her. However, little do they know the killer lives right across the street. Susie's father Jack has his gut feeling that Mr. Harvey did kill her but does not have proof. Mrs. Salmon begins to breakdown through the years after her daughters death and eventually runs away. She then returns following a heart attack that jack had & Susie's younger siblings Lindsey and Buckley feel a resentment now that she's back after 5 years. Mr. Harvey eventually moves away and is killed by an icicle when he tried to get with a teenage girl .They never do find out who actually killed Susie but they will have the hints.
The main theme of the work is Familial love and how it endures over time. After Susie's death, the Salmon family began to fall apart. Nobody seemed to talk to each other and after a while Mrs. Salmon left. After Jack had a heart attack , She came back and stayed and they lived like a family again.
The main literary technique used was symbols. The author used symbols such as Susie's charm and Mr. Harvey's dollhouses as symbols. The author also uses vivid imagery to describe specific scenes like the scene where Susie was murdered. The dollhouses symbolize how Mr. Harvey went from Town to town killing innocent girls / women and people could recognize him.
I would recommend this book to another reader because it was a very entertaining book to read. The suspense and cliffhangers at the end of every chapter left me wanting to read more and discover what happened. I would recommend this to readers who like suspense and mystery.
The Scarlet Letter
ReplyDeleteBy: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Being humilated in public is probably the worst thing that can ever happen to you. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, protagonist Hester Prynne was humialted in public by wearing an "A" for an unfair reason. The setting of the book takes place during the middle of the seventeenth century in Boston, Massachusetts. Throughout the book Hester is caught and accused of adultry right after the suppose death of her husband. while in prison she has her daughter, Pearl. After she is free to go she was forced to wear an "A" on her chest being humiliated by the whole village. Later on, we find out Hester's husband Roger Chillingworth isn't dead. In which later he seeks to torture Hester, her daughter, and most of all Dimmesdale the man who she had an affair with.
One of the themes used in this novel would be identity and society. This is because Hester has to face the people of Boston after being publically ashamed and forced to wear the "A". Hester's behavoir is permised on her desire to determine her own identity rather than letting others determine it. Running away or removing the letter would be an acknowledgement of society's power over her, admitting that the letter is a mark of shame and her identity.
I recommend this novel to all readers who love storys about love and romance. Also this book talks about how society can affect you if you don't follow the right rules of traditions. For instance, to what had happened to Hester.
In the novel “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, Pecola expresses how she feels being an African American who Lives in a world where they only notice people who are white and have blue eyes. Pecola is a young African American girl who believes that whiteness is beautiful and her own black skin is ugly. Pecola’s life is very difficult. Her father is an alcoholic and her parents are constantly arguing. She begins to think that if she were prettier her parents would be much nicer to each other and her. She begins to think that if she had blue eyes she it would change the way she see’s the world and the way people see her. Throughout the novel she shows her true feelings about whites and the way they treat African Americans. She feels that having blue eyes would solve all her problems. Towards the end of the novel Pecola is raped by her alcoholic father.
ReplyDeleteThe main theme in the book is whiteness as the standard of beauty. In the novel it shows that whiteness is superior to all other races. Like the white baby doll given to Claudia as a gift. The person who suffers most from white beauty is Pecola. She connects beauty with being loved and believes that if she has blue eyes the struggles in her life would go away and things would get better for her. One literary technique used to develop this theme is symbolism. In the book, blue eyes symbolize the cultural beauty to whiteness in America. For Pecola blue eyes are something she must have. She believes that having it will change the way people see her. Because of her low self esteem as a child she does not believe in her own beauty. This is another reason why she wants blue eyes to get rid of all her struggles.
I would recommend this book to another reader because it’s a strong book and has a lot of meaning to it. It deals with things that some people may have problems with today. In the end it doesn’t matter what race you are you are still beautiful no matter what color eyes you have or your skin color you’re still beautiful. The true beauty isn’t on the outside but it’s what’s on the inside that really matters. That is why I recommend other people to read this book in the end you may learn a lot from it.