last one

I learned a lot about myself as a reader and a blogger, I learned that reading a book that you actually like is very important because if you don't then you won't have anything to write about that made your really think about your book in general. It's important to stay with that certain book, because you can't keep on switching or else you won't have enough knowledge of the book to write about something. I learned that I mostly wrote about themes that were relatable to me, therfore I was more prone to read books very similar to our lives.

I benifitted a lot from this experience.One way I benefitted from this experience was that I learned how to keep track of what I am reading, and really get out what I was learning. Not to just skim through a book and say I'm done with it.It taught me how to absorb the book deeply. I feel that I was able to take books in with more understanding and a bigger purpose of reading the book in the first place. I learned a lot about what are traits that make a book what it is. I learned about the different elements of a book, that make each type of genre what it is. I just learned a lot about books in general, that I never knew before.

Writing online is way different than writing on a notebook in my opinion. I would have to say his because writing in a notebook, you don't have to be organized with your ideas, but when you write on the computer, your ideas have to be organized and clearly expressed in the way that you want to be. Also when you write online, punctuation is more important to understanding things, but when you write in your notebook the words just flow freely, without punctuation. Also people get distracted on the internet a lot easier than off the internet because they have sites like youtube and facebook.

Writing is liberating in the sense that it really shows what you're thinking in a more expressed form, then just keeping them in your mind. It is enjoying to write about parts of the book that were found to be very interesting. It makes you have the freedom to express your thoughts clearly and fully.

Overall blogging was really fun and interesting the whole year. A little bit too tedious to do every week, but I got a lot from it which matters the most. It's been a good experience doing this in Ms.Rear's class, and it's something to take away from 8th grade.

I am currently reading the book The Giver by Lois Lowry. I'm reading it again as a re-read, as the school year is winding down. It's about a kid named Jonah, who lives in society where everyone follows strict rules,and there is no color. He learns as he gets older that he has a secret ability to see color. A person in the community who is known as the Giver gives Jonah the power of memory. Memory of a time when the world was like ours.

This book made me think very ethically, what's right and what's wrong. I'm going to focus on a specific part in the society they live in. It's called being released, it's when they kill babies that aren't developing smoothly and old people. I was thinking, is it right to kill old people if it's necessary to help feed other people who are still doing well? I was really thinking is it just for someone to die for the benefits of others? It' never good to take one person's life for others. I don't think it's right for kids to die especially kids if they're not developing as fast, some take longer than others. It's never right for anyone to die for someone else's purpose.

In this society it's also right for people to marry the people that they are put together to be compatible with. In the islamic religon it is considered right for people to marry others of their parents choice. I was wondering should people should get the choice. I think that they should what if they regret meeting that person. They will live a life of being depressed.Which is very unhealthy in general. It is definitely not right at all for people to be forced to liive with a parents decision. Sometimes it is a good choice, so it is beneficial to the parent also and the person forced to marry.

Overall this book has many things that are controversial. It isnt right for people to be forced to do something in general, even when needed in important situations. Life's shouldn't be put over other lives,and people shouldn't be forced to live with others.

mandala

I have been reading a book called Nelson Mandela, which is obviously a book about Nelson Mandela's life. I have learned that Nelson is the son of the chief of a tribe. Nelson has to marry at a certain age,but he decides to run away to Johannesburg. He then studies, and learns a lot about law, and makes a law office,for mainly the     dark skinned people who lived in the slums of Johannesburg. This book is very helpful for thinking philosophical.

I really want to focus on segregation between blacks, and whites. Mandela has been known to be a famous civil rights speaker. He was apart of the national african congress. Nelson was all about giving people equal rights. I would have to call him the Martin Luther King jr.of South Africa. Maybe not as vocal and physical, but he was very influential. He was a non-violent protestor which he learned from Mahatma Gandhi. I want to say is it right to use violence to get across, what you want? I think it is,it clearly isn't right for Africans to be oppressed like that for no reason. So if the government isn't already right then you can't do simple protesting,you have to get your message across by doing something that isn't right. So violence is necessary to fight unjust things.

Also when Mandela, went to jail, I felt that it was very unjust for it to happen. Everyone can agree because he was not the only one in the first place to be charged for using violence for protesting, they kind of singled him out by himself when he clearly wasn't the only one doing it. It is a good way to get a lot of attention on the subject because it was broadcasted on the news, when he was released from prison. You need to get attention sometimes, if it means doing things that might cost you. It's just needed.

In conclusion i agree with what Nelson Mandela did in order to get attention and stop the segregation. It was a good idea, that needed to happen to get attention. Nelson Mandela is one part that stopped segregation, it's good that he was there to stop it, even when it was bad things to get there.

Just Another Hero

I'm reading the book Just Another Hero by Sharon M. Draper. It's a book about mainly a girl named Arielle who used to be the most popular girl, and had the most popular guy to be her boyfriend,but people soon realized what type of person she was and stopped hanging out with her. She would make fun of them and call them names, and people just stopped letting her take advantage of them. She then become a normal girl in high school, and all her popularity disappeared. The story contains another main character in it named Kofi and his story is basically his parents don't work, and they have problems making ends meet. Yet he's a smart kid too. I've just started the book, but I have learned so much about each character.

I'm  mainly going to be  discussing what makes a mom or a dad. Many people argue that it's the person who gave birth to you, and others argue it the one who takes care of you. Well Kofi is the one who has to mianly take care of his parents. Kofi has a job in order to pay the utility bills. His dad was supposed to pay the bills, but he lost the money at a casino, and his mother is not with reality. In the first part of meeting her she comes back from a club in the morning. There parents are basically out of control teenagers, and Kofi is the dad that takes control of them telling them to calculate their money,and trying to make every dollar count. I would say Kofi doesn't have real parents if they rely on him when the roles are supposed be the opposite.

Another person that this question can relate to is Arielle, and her parents. Her mom has been divorced three times, and the new person that she's married to only seems like she'd interested in that person for the fact that he has a lot of  money that he gives her and Arielle. I was thinking is a parent one that only supports financially or is one that's there physically when needed. I was thinking it's physical and financial. It's all types of support when being considered a parent. It's never being selfish, and keeping things yourself. Arielle needs a parent who can help her not a shopping buddy. It seems like they are friends or room mates, not parents at all.

In conclusion, parents should be the one to support you physically and financially in every single way. Parents should never let their kids support them it's not right and fair for the kid to be put in situations like that. In conclusions parents shouldn't be similar to having a room mate or a friend.

Paper Towns by John Green

I am currently reading the book Paper Towns by John Green, it is a book about a boy named Quentin who is the regular normal teenager, dealing with normal problems at that age, and just getting on with life and it’s obstacles, but once a girl named Margo Roth Spielgelman sees him one night in front of his window it changes his life. It’s because of the fact that Quentin is in love with Margo so he feels obligated to anything she does, and that night Quetin does things you would have never thought he would do, and these things are only benefitting Margo. What I’m going to be talking about is how this book is so similar to the book Looking for Alaska, possibly because it’s the same author that wrote it meaning the same style of writing.

            One reason why these books are very similar is the fact that these books both contain characters that fawn over one girl in the book in this case it’s Margo for Quentin and Alaska for Miles in “Looking for Alaska”. They fawn over them for similar reasons too, both girls in each book are very spontaneous for example Margo takes Quentin mysteriously and leads him to do a lot of things such as vandalizing and trespassing the territory of her enemies, and then the next day she disappears all of a sudden. Alaska is just spontaneous in very strange ways she just disappears near the end. She also does bad things or is rebellious to authority and I found this very similar to Margo because she is clearly going against authority if she does thing like this. They are also very random too, like one day they’ll be friendly like Margo going to Quentin’s house in the night. Also when Alaska kisses Miles fro no reason even though she has a boyfriend and then the next day she’ll disappear.

            Another reason why these books are very similar is that both main characters are put in very similar plots. They both like a girl a lot and they both go out of their way sometimes, or  do things that they never would have done just so they can please the girl. The girls in the book control their lives to much, because they take advantage of the fact that they can control Quentin and Miles. At some point in the story both girls disappear one goes to some unknown place with clues leading to them, and when leaves and then dies in car crash. The plots all have similar story lines in the end.

In conclusion these books are very similar because the main characters are in love with one specific girl and they have similar plots that fold out in the book. These two characters experience journeys and many problems led by the girls that they like. They basically control the book overall and the main character follow what’s laid out for them.

i am currently reading the book Paper Towns by John Green and I really like it. It's a book about a boy named Quinn who'sin love with hie next door neighbor, who is an adventurous and a very amusing person to be around at the same time. In the book this girl who's name is Margo goes missing for a while and it's basically a more modern love story with a lot of mystery blended in also. I will be talking about text to life similarities between characters and between the book's words in general. I can really relate to Quinn in many ways actually, and I think that Quinn is quite relatable to other people also.

 Quinn is relatable for the fact that he can't move on. What I mean by he can't move on is the fact that he's always stuck with Margo he can't stop thinking about Margo. Quinn has always been attracted to Margo ever since he was a little kid, and he is right now also. I think this is quite relatable in a different setting though. It's like when your grandparents pass away or someone in your family. It's that feeling that you can't let go of them. It's just such a strong bond n general and the fact of it breaking is hard. It's hard to  grasp this idea that you will never see them again or the fact that they are detached from you and the world.Quinn has that same exact feeling he's to attached to Margo and he can't let her go. It's just to difficult for him to do this, Margo is bascially his power source in a way.

Quinn also stresses the idea of desperation, you know how far is he willing to go just so he can see Margo again and bring her back home. Quinn is risking the fact of getting into trouble just for finding Margo. This shows how far will people go when they are deperate for someone they will do anything for them even if it includes getting out of their way for someone. It's relatable for the fact that if u want something you will do anything to get it. You ave to want it so bad, that it's all you think about and it happens to everyone with toys and more important stuff in general, like the same situation as Quinn.

In conclusion, Quinn is relatable because he can't move on and how far he goes with desperation. It reminds me of when I was when younger and I used to be so focused on only one mindset throughout. I hope Quinn can find Margo and finally be pleased with his life again.

I'm currently reading the book Godless, I have read the book previous to this  time of reading it, but this time as     I read the book I am reading it more attentively and more comprehendable as a reader. I wanted to talk about the main character Jason. Basically the book is about Jason and some other friends that decide to create their own religon. I want to talk about his life and many things that affected him positively and negatively.

Jason was affected positively by finding his own religon, it was about a god called the ten-legged one. I think by finding his own religon it mad him feel better. I don't mean like necessarily feel happy,but I think Jason was able to express himself in ways that he was not able to do when he is in public.He showed emotion in a different way, I guess it was just a getaway  for him, a getaway from all the punishment from the bully that tortures him and his friend, and a get away from his parents definitely his parents. I say this because his parents are always controlling his life and making him go to religious school and just control his life in general. I think creating his own religon let him be the boss of himself which he doesn't get the option to do that often in general. He was the leader of the religon, and I think it really showed his true colors and feel more confident. This is possibly the only good thing that happens so far.

Bad things that happen a lot to him. One bad thing is having a bully, the bully's name is Henry I mean what obviously a bully is bad for anyone to have for the fact that they abuse you physically and mentally. The terrible thing about this is that Henry is way smaller than Jason and Jason knows himself that even he can beat Henry up. This definitely degrades his confidence as a person and it just brings embarrasment to Jason. Another bad thing that is going on in the book is his parents, they are so controlling which is bad for the fact that he will never have the courage to stand up for himself because he is being controlled for what he does. It's the way his parents raised him that makes him vulnerable to bullies, I'm not saying that it's right but it definitely is wrong.

In conclusion, positive things that happened to Jason was controlling his life and forgetting the bullies the control over him. It was him set free. Sometimes people need to just have their imagination go so they won't be uptight all the time or go crazy.

Gym Candy

I am currently reading the book Gym Candy by Carl Deuker. It's a book about a kid who wants to be an NFL player because it runs in his blood from his father, who almost made it but had some complications involved with character and he ended up being dropped from the NFL team that he played for. Mick is the main character who is striving to make it to the NFL, and will do anything out of his way to get him there, such as taking steroids. I have been reading this book for a good amount and I have been tracking down this character's archetypal journey. Many things have effected him kind of negative, but also positive too.

First off,many positive things have affected the character. Let's start off with the obvious in the book, one person who had a positive impact on Mick's life was his father. I say this because his father taught him a lot of things that made Mick into the great football player that he currently is right now. Without him Mick wouldn't know specific techniques that make him stand out from the rest. The fact that Mick's dad got kicked out of the NFL makes his dad even more willing for him to make his son get into the NFL. I think that he doesn't want him to see him end up as a "failure" as he did when he got into the NFL. I think Mick's dad also taught Mick about hard work and always trying your best, because he always is talking to Mick about there's someone better than you out there and you just have to try harder to be better than them. Also a positive event that affected Mick was when Matt Drager got kicked off the highschool team. This is a positive event because Mick worked his butt off in practice for the highschool in order to get the top spot and actually even get to play on the team at all. Yet since he was a freshman he always ended up not being able to start because Matt was older. Since Matt got kicked off for under age drinking and untolerable character from the new coach. Mick can actually play. This is positive because it made him work even harder to prove himself, and show his skill.

Secondly, negative things that affected him was when he got his new trainer Peter. I mean Peter did make him stronger and better, but it also did a lot of bad things for him in the end anyways. Peter persuaded Mick to take steroids. This i bad for Mick because it caused a lot of things. One common thing was depression from it, taking steroids can give you depression that feels like a black hole and negative things just keep on going through your head. It also made Mick focus on football it made him forget about his childhood that he's missing out on because he's so focused on weight lifitng that he's forgeting about it. He needs to remember his childhood.

In conclusion positive things that affected him were his dad and getting to play. Negative things were taking steroids and meeting Peter. I think my character learned more about hardwork and actions prove something. It taught me the samething,and I also learned to always take action.

Where's My Wand: Archetypes

I am reading the same book which is Where is My Wand by Eric Poole. It is pretty much a mix of very different characters put into one story. They all have many different personalities that make them  very unique and interesting to follow as the story continues on.

The Hero  of the story would definitely have to be the man character, Eric. I say this because he does uphold the many characteristics that make him this compared to others. For one he is not perfect, He has many strange fascinations such as dressing up as a character from Bewitched. This included making a cape from bedspread, aand acting as a female. He was caught doing this by his sister, which he was quite embarrassed to show to her. This shows that he is just a normal child like anybody else in the story. He also tries to stand up to a bully they have in school and make friends with a girl that is disliked by many in the school he goes to. This shows the courage that he puts forth in the story.

The mentor would probably have to be Father, only for the reason that the father is the one that is most connected to the main character, Eric. Eric just follows what the Dad does, and I guess he shows pity for his Dad that's why he sees his Dad better as a parent. I think Eric just teaches himself in general, he doesn't really have role model because his father and mother are to stressed, and his sister is just going through that teen phase were you start to dislike your siblings even more. He basically is the mentor, )maybe not a knowledegable one) and the hero combined.

The Shadow would most likely be the bully because he's the reason why Eric's life is so stressful if I were in his shoes. He not only has to face a lot of problems at home, but he has to face them at school which makes his life even more of a hell. He doesn't have anyone to really guide him in the first place either,so the bully is free to do anything without confrontation or support for Eric. He's the one that makes Eric life miserable, for him to be in the school yard. He calls Eric deaf and makes fun of him for being deaf. IT could be the new girl for the fact that she'snot afraid to say what's on her mind, even though she's handicapped, she'll physicallly hurt someone. She also creates tension by showing off the bully when he tries to make fun of her.

The Shapeshifter is obviously the mother mainly because she  seems to have tremendous mood swings in the book. Like during christmas when recieving gifts from the dad, she liked the minx and was so in love, but when he presented a 300 dollar painting she showed no gratitude just because she didnt like it. This shows that she's sometimes peaceful, meaning they have a workable family. Then sometimes she's stressed out and goes ballistic on slight things.

In conclusion it was kind of hard to determine the role of each person but it was possible,to see, because sometimes it's not the obvious or the first thing you would think of.

Where's My Wand

I am currently reading the book Where's My Wand by Eric Poole. It is a book about the rather complicated life of the author in the book, who has to face many different things in his life such as parents fighting, bullying and different interests. He's the protagonist in the book and I have to say his life can be similar to mine in some ways even though people may think it is not to theirs.

One is parents problems between my parents. After Eric's dad got laid off the mother became very agitated because I guess the tremendous amount of stress. And then they started getting angry and arguative towards each other that's why even his dad left after  while of arguing, he went and left for a day. During Christmas his mother was ungrateful of the Dad trying  to be nice and giving expensive parents, she leaves in the end angry at the Dad. My parents were like this a lot less though until they divorced. Until they got divorced. It was due to the arguing after a while.

Another relatable thing is Eric's choosing of friends, he chose a girl that wasn't afraid to say something and stand up for themselves. That's how I was, my friends were usually the loudest in elementary school and probably the strangest in some other ways also. I was pretty loud and well spoken,which is the friends that I liked the most.

In conclusion, characters can be similar to you, even though you think they may not be similar to you. I had similar friends and similar experiences in the past. I hope to find more similar experiences.  

Bad Boy: themes

I m still reading Bad Boy, which is the same book from last post. A lot of things have passed the impacted his life so much.  One is his uncle has died, and it really changed the tone of the story, his dad has become more quite now that his brother id dead, and also more religous. Another thing that happened is that he's just been acting wild (the main character). He's been doing things that get him injured and just being a "bad boy".

In the book the main character Walter, has been acting very bad lately, he's been getting injured and in trouble with authority. One time he jumped off a church roof, just because he saw it before in a movie being done in the military. He jumped off the roof and when he did, he landed on his heels ultimately he fractured his heels which he did not know until later on in his life. The theme is curiosity curiosity can lead into many dangers and a lot of trouble.He was curious to see what it was like to jump off a building  like in a movie he saw. He also got in trouble for stealing a bus. Him and his friends sole a bus and drove it around this shows that he was lead by curiosity which leads for the desire to do dangerous things.

 Another theme that I found was death. Walter's dad's brother died it changed many things. Walter never knew his Uncle well enough to feel that sadness, but his dad became devastated. His dad's mood all of a sudden changed. It made the house more sad, and his mother has become less talkative because she's depressed from the father. Death sets tones  in many stories. It creates a setting so sad no matter how bright the setting can be.

In conclusion, death can set a mood, and curiosity can put you at risk. Themes really have an affect on setting and the whole tone of the book overall.

Bad Boy: Setting's Importance

I am currently reading the book Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers. It is a book about his life that he lived in Harlem, New York, and places that he traveled to. I will be talking about some important settings that take place in this book that greatly effect the main character, Walter,  by a landmark.

One setting that I think is hugely important is the library. I think the library was important to his life, because look at him now. He's a writer, and books that he read in elementary school and continuing on and on probably encouraged him even more to become a writer. In the book he's always saying how fascinated the books that his teacher gave him and books that he found in the library. He would always say that the books would bring up his imagination, the first book was a Norwegian story that his elementary school teacher gave to him and ever since that occasion he had a love for books. He started to attend a public library close to his house and kept on reading still fascinated by the books given to him. The library really changed his life because as you can see he is a well known writer.

Another setting that is really important too the main character is the neighborhood, specifically the streets in the neighborhood. This is where the character explains as the culture of Harlem, he describes it as many different things such as clothing, colors, games being played and much more. The streets are a place where he learns about new things he likes and ideas that occur and a lot of chatter that goes on in the community. Walter is influenced by the many trends that go on in the streets, he plays new sports because of these trends he learns how to play basketball and baseball. It really affected how his childhood was because of the many neighbors and influences that he had on the street. For instance one time he was encouraged to beat up Jewish boys,, and ever since that moment he has been notorious for having a lot of violence in his elementary school that he went to. It's a really big influence in my opinion.

In conclusion these to settings really affect what his actions,him becoming a writer, and him being violent. It's all influence in my opinion his teacher for an instance got him into reading books, with the Norwegian folktales. His friends and older teenagers got him into being violent by getting him to hit people for the first time.

Secret Saturdays: Character Patterns

I am currently reading the book Secret Sundays by Torrey Maldonado. It's about the life of a middle school boy who lives in one of the bad parts in Brooklyn. He has to deal with many of the negatives that surround himin such a neighborhood, and on top of that his best friend has also fallen into the negatives of the streets that they live in. I will be writing about the different types of characters that affect him in the story.

The hero in the story is kind of conflicted between the characters in the book.Yet I would have to say that the hero of the story would be the main character Justin. I say this because Justin is the one who is losing his friends to the negatives of the world in this book. He's the hero for the fact that he'sacrificing his own time and himself just so he can get his best friend back, not the person he knows now as Sean. He's sacrificing himself, by taking the time to spy on him and see why he wasn't able to hangout with them in the first place. He's also not perfect for the fact that he complains Sean has been more mean towards other people than usual. Yet he's also taking Sean's side and dissing people and hurting other people's feelings at the same time. This makes him the hero.

I think definitely Justin's mom is the mentor for the fact that she is very helpful to Justin in doing the right things.  She's able to do this because of past experience that she had. Justin wants to confront Sean about him leaving  late at night and ditching their sleepovers that they're going to have. His mom tells him to confront him about it as soon as possible, because when Justin's dad was having an affair she never attempted to stop it until later. She ended losing her husband and her friend who was in the affair. She learned to confront people earlier. This shows her past experience teaching someone else.

The shadow would have to be definitely Sean. The whole problem in the story revolves around him for the fact that he's he one who has gone to the negative side. After the day Justin saw him going outside at 4, Sean became more easily pissed and more hurtful, this time he was more hurtful physically also. Sean got into a fist fight with this kid named Manny because Manny dissed him.Usually Sean would just diss him back, but this time Sean punched him in the face any times and attacked him a lot. He started saying more personal jokes to people  which is what Justin generally thinks made him meaner, and hard to be around. Sean is definitely he shadow, he brings more tension to the fact of his unexpectedness that he has.

Vanessa would have to be the shapeshifter, she seems to be the one that Sean talks to the most,Vanessa doesn't know these these problems around Sean because Sean is always trying to impress her and it seems to want to date her also. She's also on Justin's side because she also became a bit suspicious after Justin told her. Yet she was always with Sean before. So she's kind of caught in between of the two. Ultimately she goes on Justin's side though.

This book has many different types of characters besides the ones that I said. They all carry some form of difference in the book, that plays a big role to each other the fact that they're not all on board with each other.

Part 2: Long Way Gone sequel

I have been reading the book a Long Way gone since my last blogpost and it's turning out to be a really good book overall. The book has a very interesting and long full-filled journey since the start of the war that goes on in the story. It seems almost like a story even though it's a  real story, at times when the main character Ishmael is about to reach his family or a safe place it ends up being just another run-in with the rebels that were attacking them in the first place or just having to fight with people who don't trust people of their own kind. I noticed that this is a huge theme in itself. People wouldn't be so scared if there was more trust around and a lot more things also.

In my first body paragraph I'm going to talk about how there is a lot of distrust in the book. I've noticed that in the book ever since the war has started there has been a great amount of distrust that goes on throughout the book, and there's an obvious reason for that. The war has been the main reason for this distrust mainly for the fact that people have been so overprotective of themselves that they seem to regret that they were once good friends with the same people. Ever since the war started people became more protective of their things and only close family. They started to keep all the food that they had and all the items that are valuable safe to themselves. This leads to greed because greed is a result for being overprotective. People want to keep all the food to themselves and they forget that they were once a giving community that helped each other in need, but now it's all gone. All because of the seperation that the war causes in the story.

Secondly, trust has been the whole planning behind the war and outbreak. When people don't feel right with something, or they don't enjoy the way the government is controlling them, what do they do? People usually tend to act out as a result of discontent. This is exactly what rebels are doing I mean it's not good in the way they're trying to make people join their side by recruiting people with violence. They use violence and threaten people which is no way to treat people. The rebels obviously saw that they couldn't trust their own government so they decided to take matters in their own hands. It was their way of showing distrust to the government. Trust is obviously a big issue in the story.

In conclusion, trust is the underlying theme in the whole book, it's the central the theme that controls most of the parts of the book. Without this theme there wouldn't have been so many problems. I hope to see continuously how this theme evolves in the story.

A Long Way Gone: Archetypal Journey

I am currently reading the book a Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. I would have to say that this book is very good for the perfectly described images that it would make it real, as if you were in the same place as the character in the story. In the book there is a war that takes place,and it arrives in Sierra Leone, where our main character lies (the author). The book is about his escape and long journey of his survival during the war. I've noticed the many impacts that this journey has had on his life.

So far not many positive things has happened to him, he's just a refugee in war zone. I would say that positive people have impacted his life. The fact that along the way Ishmael gets to meet  friends from his hometown is a reward anybody would want. Ishmael describes the torture of walking by himself. He says that it's the loneliness that kills him, loneliness makes people go crazy and Ishmael starts to show signs. Ishmael really needed friends, especially it's for the fact that it's dangerous to travel alone, people don't trust anyone anymore so they'll kill anybody unfamiliar. With company Ishmael becomes less worried and less stress from having to be alert for himself. Companions are the make up of  50 percent of his family he misses, since everyone is close in his family.

Negative events would obviously have to be the war that is currently going on in the story because of the fact that it causes so much destruction in the book. First of all it causes seperation, Ishmael gets seperated from his family in the beginning of the story. It's why he started going a bit crazy and why he's so depressed and his brother in the book. The war lost most of his family and has completely ruined a young mind with images and dreams of killings that he witnessed. At such a young age it's hard to see how someone else of similar age could go through this.  His mind is being literally dumped with memories of the war, and it's not erasable.

I'm not done with the book but later on I hope to see the character on a more positive track,which doesn't seem to be going on a positive track anytime soon. I learned to always appreciate family because without them it's hard. Unfamiliar faces just makes problems worse when you really need help. Family is always there and just appreciate them at all times no matter how annoyed you may seem to be because of them. Appreciate everything going well for you all of a sudden like Ishmael it can come to an end.

Sharp Objects: Themes to start tracking in the book

I have just started the book Sharp Objects, which definitely seems to be a book of mystery. Well obviously it must be since the book is about a journalist who is asked to track down a story of two teen murders, in another place. This is all in desperation, because the main character who was asked to go on the trip was made because the competition between other newspaper businesses. I'm starting to track down themes that could have major effects on the book in general.

The first theme that i clearly notice is desperation, from the beginning of the book I could obviously tell that this book would have a lot of desperation involved in it. The tone was a very rushed and hurry tone because in the beginning of the book the main characters boss is talking to her about the competition that is going on between the other newspaper companies. So he makes her go on a trip to some unknown place and track a murder down to get the full story. It obviously is a very dangerous task to do especially if you have no protection. I know in real life journalists do thing like this, but it' with other people sometimes, yet it's still dangerous to do in real life. It just shows how far someone will go when they're desperate to do something. I hope this them becomes more apparent along the way,and shows the consequences of desperation when it gets out of control.

Another noticeable theme in the book is theme of mystery like associated with killing, it seems that whole book will have a scary and mysterious touch to it that will mostly be coming from the murder scene that the journalist is trying to investigate in the book. Which is pretty much obvious for any book to contain a mystery in murders. I will be tracking how the mystery in the book decides what the character will do defensively, since I think that it will be an act of defense when she is scared by the mystery going on the book. So far the character feels no regret or nervousness in going to some foreign place for a murder.Which is quite odd, I would be very scared to face a murder. I guess me as the reader forsees all of the tension that this myster seems to be building up which will all explode in the face of the main chrarcter in the climax to the end of the book.

In conclusion, these were the two main themes that I found in the book that seemed worth while tracking down for their relation to characters. I hope to see more interactions as the book goes on.

Setting: Purple Heart

For today's blog post I will be talking about a book called Purple Heart by Patricia Mcormick. I have read many books by this author and this book seems to be very good just like all her other books. So far it takes place in a hospital, in a military base-ish place where the hospital is located in. The main character Matt seems to be recovering from a blast of an RPG that he was shot by. Not many things happen while he's recuperaing, but the whole place that Matt stays in seems to have a strong essence around it that makes the setting so significant to the story.

One place in the setting that i think is significant is the green zone. It is a part of Iraq where Matt was deployed in the army. It's significant because it's a safe haven for war victims to just relax. This is very significant because the Iraqi's never get a chance to rest from terrorists, because of the constant war that is going on between them. The fact that they can go to a place without fear running their lives, is a benefit no matter what you may think. I could imagine myself where I know that there is someone always watching over me. I mean even on tests I get worried so I can't really imagine how worried they'll be when someone is threatening their life everyday. It's significant for Matt because it's kind of a place of rebirth for him. HE has to re-learn everything again, such as walking and talking. It's just a safe haven for all. It's alsoa good place for Matt to get out of the war zone.

Another significant place in the story would definitely have to be the hospital itself, the more specific place that I mean is the bed where Matt sleeps and basically where the ICU he's in. I think it's important because Matt gets to learn about himself again. Not many people get to learn about themselves because not all have been in concussions. He learns about himself, because of the time it takes for him to say what he wants, so he gets to think about what he's about to do before he actually does it. It's a place of re-invention that makes it so important to the content of the story. It's a rebirth and it actually helps him forget about the actual terrors of Iraq. Hopefully when he re-invents himself it will last after he leaves the hospital.

In conclusion, Matt gets to learn about himself in the setting of the ICU, and people have a safe place from the terror of the war in the green zone. These two make a great setting, that really represents something in the story not just a place that comes and goes. 

Exit Here: Archetypal Journey

I want to right about the book Exit Here again because of the huge archetypal journey that the main character Travis faces. I've basically finished the book, but that book is the most that I have on my mind to write about. Travis' journey  is full of bumps yet good things do happen to him in the end.

Many positive events and people have impacted him a lot. The things is when good things do happen to Travis there is always a bad thing that happens overall, and gets rid of the good things. A person that impacted his life in a positive way was Laura (at first). When Travis went back home from college, there was a reason that he went back. The reason was because he felt that he was missing something. He didn't quite explain what that missing something was, but you eventually find out. He was missing Laura (his ex-girlfriend). It seemed that when he met Laura again his life seemed to be more back together and he felt that his life was at a good stage at the time. Positive events that effected his life was the fact that he went back in the first place. I think that all the pressure that his dad gives him is to much for him to handle, which caused the stress he had in the first place to rise. Also he realized that it was something that wasn't for him, if he kept on going to the college he was in there would have been no positives that would of happened. This retreat was a good idea to ease the pain that he had all along.

Of course as I said there's always the negative events that have to come along as well. Laura may be the positive person that affected Travis' life, but it was also the negative part. Travis found that when he and Laura were still together she slept with his friend Cliff. It was a brutal surprise since Laura definitely meant a lot to him at the time. All the negative things that happened to him were finding out who he could trust or not. So when Travis found out that Laura cheated on him it made him lose two friends that he thought he could really trust. All the bad events were a continuation of the bad impacts that people had on him.

I think Travis accomplished/ realized that you can never tell who's really your friend until they back you up when you need it or when they do something behind your back.  I also think that Travis learned to stand for his own self. He stands up for what he thinks is the right thing to do in his life, like when his dad forced him to join this college he said he didn't want to because of the fact that he just came from college and he missed his life back at home. He stood up to his dad to what he thought was the right thing to do. Travis learns more about himself wish is really an accomplishment in itself, you get to learn what's good for you and the type of person you are.

In conclusion this journey taught me not to trust everybody for who you think they are, I think that's the most important one from the book. And yes all the other things Travis learned I learned. This book is very similar to our world so it is very relatable. Travis' journey is a thoughtful one

Themes: The Adoration of Jenna Fox

This is the book I'm currently reading for the past 5 days. It's been kind of slow paced because in the book it's about a girl who just recovered from a coma that erased her ability to do things in life. The book contains many themes that really relate to the characters position in the story. One important theme in the book is rebirth and death. It is pretty important in the story, the main character whole conflict in the story was because of this.

I say that rebirth is an important theme in the story because of many proving factors. One reason that I say rebirth is a theme is because the main character Jenna kind of goes through this phase when she awakes from being in a comma. This is rebirth because just as being born Jenna has to re-experience life again from the beginning. She has to learn how to walk, talk etc. basically everything you would expect someone to learn. She has to figure out how to live in the world again, without the memories of her life before her comma. Jenna doesn't start to remember the life she lived before right away, it gradually comes, but still she has to re-invent her self. Rebirth is also evident with another supporting character in the story. The supporting character is "Clayton Bender" he is also kind of reborn because the "Clayton Bender" Jenna knows has taking the original Clayton Bender's name, and his whole identity. Basically he has everything to be the actual Clayton Bender. It's rebirth because Clayton Bender gets to continue on with his life as well as the art work he created. Yet it's a different person who's actually him.  Clayton Bender is literally a "new person".

Death is also a theme in this book because without death in this book there would have been no rebirth in the first place. The death of Clayton Bender allowed the birth of "himself" again. The very, very, very close death of Jenna Fox re-birthed her. I now believe that death is not the end just like in real life. People do believe that death isn't the end of life. There is something else after that and from reading this book it seems to me that it might be re-living again. Jut like reincarnation. Maybe the author is trying to make us think in a more spiritual way.

In conclusion, the two themes death and rebirth are really apart of the characters life. It's really important it seems. I mean Jenna's whole life is completely changed after this.

review of Alex S. post: Paper Towns

http://alexstutt5.blogspot.com/2011/12/paper-towns-archetypes.html

Reading Alex's blog post made me remember the different roles played in Paper Towns. I have also read the book Paper Towns not very long ago and I feel that the post on the book contains many similar feelings towards the book. Yet many controversial feelings along the way of the book.

I feel different feelings about many roles that Alex thought was correct for the characters. I agree that Quentin is a hero, but I don't think it's because of the fact that. Yet even though he does display the characteristics of a hero it's kind of uncertain about that. He does display courage, bravery and all the other things that make the characteristics of a hero, yet it's complicated because of the fact that he's not really controlling himself to do it. He's being brave and following Margo's plan because he's in love with her. He's blinded by the love that he has for Margo. He's being mind-controlled which doesn't really prove for someone to be courageous on their own. I also kind of disagree with Quentin's two friends being mentors because of the fact that they don't show much wisdom. They don't because they follow Quentin into his doings, they don't tell him what's right and what's wrong, remember Ben helped Quentin get revenge on a bully by telling him his address. Everything else is aggreable, I also agree that Margo is undecided.

The post makes me think about my book a bit Exit Here because of the fact that the characters are both blinded by the love for another girl. This both causes them to do things that wouldn't have been done if it weren't for the fact that they're blinded by love. Like in Exit Here Travis barges into the girl he likes house, even though he knows she has a boyfriend without realizing that he could hurt the boyfriend''s feelings. Same with Paper Towns, Quentin is entranced by love that he follows Margo to even break into public facilities.

I believe that there were stronger posts than this one because of the fact that it is a archetype post.It really only shows what character roles you think who and who is and why. That doesn't really prove much inner thinking than another post on themes or hard things in the story. other posts were a bit stronger. In one of them she has a lot more facts and supporting details. she also organizes and connects her whole story together.

I would like to add more issues and themes into my posts. When Alex did that it added a lot more meaning then and archetype post is supposed to be. Adding the issue makes me get more into the story and actually see what positions they're in to actually make them the role that they're seen as in archetypes. I would also  like to argument for both sides of a topic,, that way the reader is more hooked in to the story and can sympathize with you and agree/ or disagree and not sympathize.