What do you do when you're a woman in the 1800s who needs to pay off debts post Civil War? You marry your sister's fiancée and run your own business, as Scarlett O'Hare does in Gone With The Wind.
The Tara Plantation is facing foreclosure, and after seeing the horrors of war, Scarlett can't bring herself to let the planation go, as it was once a safe place and is full of memories of her charming, southern life pre-war. She decides to head to Atlanta to pay Rhett Butler a visit, hoping that the rumors that he has a fortune hidden from the Confederate government are true. When she arrives, she finds Rhett in jail (allegedly for killing a man) and is told he has no money she can borrow. She is humiliated by him and vows to find some other way to get the money. Outside the jail, she runs into Frank Kennedy, her sisters fiancée, and learns that he is one of the few wealthy men left in the town, as he owns his own store. She quickly develops a plan to charm Frank into marrying her the take some of his money to give to the farm. Scarlett is a beautiful woman, and she and Frank are soon married. The debts for Tara are paid off for the year, but Scarlett is still uneasy about having enough money to pay it off for years to come. She pays a visit to Frank's store and discovers that he is a horrible business man, as he hasn't collect debts owed to him by many family friends because he feels bad. Scarlett is visited by Rhett in the store and finds out that he wasn't hanged because he blackmailed a high government official. She has had her eye on an old saw mill for months but doesn't have the money to buy it. Rhett then tells her he lied and has millions hidden away in England and he will loan her some to get the mill if she pays him back with some of the money she earns. She agrees, and much to Frank's dismay, buys the saw mill. Just as she is starting to feel more secure, the Ku Klux Klan emerges and she realizes that her world will never be stable again.
This section of the story is a little over half way through the book. So far, based on my blogs, who do you think your favorite character would be and why? To find out what happens to Scarlett, read the book!
Now, onto another epic love story. Romeo and Juliet is a classic, and for good reason. The story is beautifully crafted and the characters so deliciously detailed, its hard not to get lost in the romance. I have enjoyed reading the script in class, because I feel even though the story is almost ridiculously romantic, it is funny in its own way and still uses lessons and figurative language relatable to now. One thing I am concerned about after reading through Act 1 and part of Act 2 is Tybalt. He is vicious by nature and has been provoked by the Montagues one too many times for me to believe that he wont hold a grudge. I am also concerned about Romeo and Juliet. They fell in love so quickly and don't seem to have thought of the consequences yet. They are from opposing families and even today we know that when families don't get along, it always spells disaster in the end. I cant wait to see where young love and revenge will take this story, and I think things are about to get interesting!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Can You Write About Cancer?
The book The Fault In Our Stars by John Green is a fantastic book. That can not be debated. The book is funny, smart, sarcastic, and makes light of dark situations. The book is about cancer. It is told from the point of a sixteen year old terminally ill girl who has accepted her fate. The story itself has an interesting concept and uses literary elements I havent seen before. It's not overly hard in terms of vocabulary or characterization, but it makes you think on a whole other level. It makes you think about mortality. This leads to a certain debate between readers. Does John Green have the right to write a story about cancer? I will present both sides to you in my opinion and tell you what I think.
Why he can write this story: The arguement for this side is simple. He is the writer. He is the person creating the book, therefore can write whatever he wants. The book may reflect his views on the disease, and though not everyone may agree with his views, they are his views for a reason. You also have to take into account that the narrater of the story is 16 and probably has a different idea of this disease than others. She is the one going through the painful process and has gone through many different stages of grief and pain to finally come to acceptance. Her circumsatnce is very usual and different from most people. John Green has also done volunteer work in children's hospitals and drew on alot of ideas for the story from there, so it can not be said that he has no expeirence with cancer or sickness first hand. In the end though, it comes down to his perspective. Everyone's perspective is different.
Why he can't write this story: Some of the bluntness and sarcasm in the book about cancer can be taken the wrong way by those affect by the disease. The characters attitudes and references to their condition could be seen as offensive by some. People who have commented on the book on Goodreads.com have had no problem stating that this is a great 4-5 star book. Many have criticized Mr. Green for making a story that has an issue so personal to them and trying to convey the feelings to other readers who have not experienced this pain. And a few readers who haven't experienced this situation in their lifetime hated the book for making them laugh about a situation such as cancer. They loved the book and reading it but hated their reactions to it.
How I fall: I believe that John Green had ever right to write this book. He has stated that when working at the hospital he got the idea to write a book about a child with cancer. He didn't want to make this child a huge poster child for cancer or a hero, but rather a normal child learning dealing with growing up and then having cancer thrown onto them. This book exemplifies this idea perfectly and is a very enjoyable story to read. Being a teenager, I am not offended by the book at all because if I was in the same situation as the characters, I feel like I would have a lot of the same feelings. I can understand why others may be offended though. At the end of the day I believe that as a writer, John Green can write whatever he wants. This argument is all about the perspective of the person reading it. What side of this debate would you take and why? Why do you think perspective is so important?
Why he can write this story: The arguement for this side is simple. He is the writer. He is the person creating the book, therefore can write whatever he wants. The book may reflect his views on the disease, and though not everyone may agree with his views, they are his views for a reason. You also have to take into account that the narrater of the story is 16 and probably has a different idea of this disease than others. She is the one going through the painful process and has gone through many different stages of grief and pain to finally come to acceptance. Her circumsatnce is very usual and different from most people. John Green has also done volunteer work in children's hospitals and drew on alot of ideas for the story from there, so it can not be said that he has no expeirence with cancer or sickness first hand. In the end though, it comes down to his perspective. Everyone's perspective is different.
Why he can't write this story: Some of the bluntness and sarcasm in the book about cancer can be taken the wrong way by those affect by the disease. The characters attitudes and references to their condition could be seen as offensive by some. People who have commented on the book on Goodreads.com have had no problem stating that this is a great 4-5 star book. Many have criticized Mr. Green for making a story that has an issue so personal to them and trying to convey the feelings to other readers who have not experienced this pain. And a few readers who haven't experienced this situation in their lifetime hated the book for making them laugh about a situation such as cancer. They loved the book and reading it but hated their reactions to it.
How I fall: I believe that John Green had ever right to write this book. He has stated that when working at the hospital he got the idea to write a book about a child with cancer. He didn't want to make this child a huge poster child for cancer or a hero, but rather a normal child learning dealing with growing up and then having cancer thrown onto them. This book exemplifies this idea perfectly and is a very enjoyable story to read. Being a teenager, I am not offended by the book at all because if I was in the same situation as the characters, I feel like I would have a lot of the same feelings. I can understand why others may be offended though. At the end of the day I believe that as a writer, John Green can write whatever he wants. This argument is all about the perspective of the person reading it. What side of this debate would you take and why? Why do you think perspective is so important?
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Gone With The Wind Quote
The most important line of Chapter 6, and of the whole book in my opinion is, "'Sir,' she said, 'you are no gentleman!' 'An apt observation,' he answered airily. 'And you, Miss, are no lady.'
This quote is very important because it personifies both Scarlett and Rhett's personalities perfectly and sets the tone of their realationship for the rest of the book. I also find this quote amusing and can picture both of them saying this in my head. This dialog shows characterization because Scarlett and Rhett are not your typical southern gentleman and lady. It also shows character vs character conflict between the two of them disagreeing and also shows a little bit of setting because the way they are talking is very authentic to the 1860s when the story is set. The diction is very important because the word choices such as 'airily' are elevated diction and make this book challenging. The sytax is very important to making the time period seem real. The sentences seem to flow very well together and they are very formal becasue everyone is addressed as 'Miss' or 'Sir'.
Do you believe this line from the text can be used to make future predictions about the story?
This quote is very important because it personifies both Scarlett and Rhett's personalities perfectly and sets the tone of their realationship for the rest of the book. I also find this quote amusing and can picture both of them saying this in my head. This dialog shows characterization because Scarlett and Rhett are not your typical southern gentleman and lady. It also shows character vs character conflict between the two of them disagreeing and also shows a little bit of setting because the way they are talking is very authentic to the 1860s when the story is set. The diction is very important because the word choices such as 'airily' are elevated diction and make this book challenging. The sytax is very important to making the time period seem real. The sentences seem to flow very well together and they are very formal becasue everyone is addressed as 'Miss' or 'Sir'.
Do you believe this line from the text can be used to make future predictions about the story?
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Suspense: Nicholas Sparks Style
In The Last Song Nicholas Sparks builds suspense by foreshadowing events to come. He will put in a sentence or two that will be a little out of place in the story line and make me wonder why the sentence is relevant to what is going on in the chapter. For example, at the end of one of the chapters he talks about how Blaze had to make fireballs for Marcus. Blaze and Marcus are dating and to make a living, Marcus rolls t-shirts into balls and then lights them on fire. During a performance, he will juggle the balls, kick them, and throw them without burning his hands or catching anything else on fire. Blaze and Marcus are ring leaders of a rough crowd, barley surviving and making extra money by stealing. Marcus has always been fascinated by fire and the way it rips through things with so much power and energy. The last sentence in that chapter said that Blaze didn't realize she was dripping lighter fluid onto the shirt she would wear for the performance later that night. I was wondering why that detail would be put in and inferred that there was a good chance Blaze would catch on fire during the performance.
Another way Nicholas Sparks builds suspense is by having different people narrate different chapters. Most of the chapters end at a dramatic point in the story, but instead of continuing on in the very next chapter, a different character narrates the next chapter and you have to read two or three more chapters until you pick up the where the previous chapter left off. Ronnie's, the main character, and Will's, her love interest, stories intertwine pretty easily. When Ronnie's dad tells the story his chapters may be every fifth chapter, so you are left waiting to see where his story picks up. This left me trying to guess what was going to happen at the end of each chapter, and made me almost have to keep reading to figure out what was going to happen.
Both ways of building suspense are cliff hangers and make this book very desirable to read. I read the book in one day because I couldn't put it down. If a book doesn't have any suspense in it, it will not be exciting and no one will read it. Suspense is what makes a book catch you on the edge of your seat and keeps you living in the story. It helps you connect with the characters and creates plot twists. There is no story with out suspense. What other kinds of suspense have you seen in your books?
Another way Nicholas Sparks builds suspense is by having different people narrate different chapters. Most of the chapters end at a dramatic point in the story, but instead of continuing on in the very next chapter, a different character narrates the next chapter and you have to read two or three more chapters until you pick up the where the previous chapter left off. Ronnie's, the main character, and Will's, her love interest, stories intertwine pretty easily. When Ronnie's dad tells the story his chapters may be every fifth chapter, so you are left waiting to see where his story picks up. This left me trying to guess what was going to happen at the end of each chapter, and made me almost have to keep reading to figure out what was going to happen.
Both ways of building suspense are cliff hangers and make this book very desirable to read. I read the book in one day because I couldn't put it down. If a book doesn't have any suspense in it, it will not be exciting and no one will read it. Suspense is what makes a book catch you on the edge of your seat and keeps you living in the story. It helps you connect with the characters and creates plot twists. There is no story with out suspense. What other kinds of suspense have you seen in your books?
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Gone with the Wind Vocabulary
The vocabulary in Gone with the Wind is very different from vocabulary we use today. The book was written in 1936, but its characters are based off of people from the 1860s. An example of vocabulary from the book is, "Their leisured world had been turned topsy-turvy, and their pleadings, prayers and advice availed nothing against the powerful forces sweeping them along"(Mitchell 131). When vocabulary like this is used in the book, it makes the theme and context of the story make more sense. The setting of the book is in the South during the Civil War. Because the characters are from the South, they already have a different accent and a different way of speaking, but the time period also plays a role in the sentence structure and vocabulary used. The vocabulary has helped me picture the setting and the characters, specifically Scarlett O'Hara, better. If the vocabulary was easy and the characters spoke like it were modern day, it would ruin the setting and this book wouldn't be a classic. Do you think vocabulary is important in a book? If so, what part of the story does it impact the most?
Friday, November 22, 2013
Breaking Night
Growing up, Liz lived in a run down apartment with drug addict parents. Her parents cared about her, but drugs consumed their life. At the age of 15, Liz became homeless, her mother died, her father was also homeless, and she was on her own. She didn'
t go to school and had no direction in life. Yet she rose above her circumstances, and made something out of herself. She didn't let her background and past stop her from achieving success and is and inspiration everywhere for telling her story.
The central theme of Breaking Night is determination to perservere during hard times. This theme emerges when Liz is living out on the streets alone. She decides that she will not be like her parents and will make something of herself. She becomes determined to finish high school and get into a good college. Liz changes what she is determined to do throughout the story depending on what situation she is in. At the beginning of her becoming homeless, she is just determined to survive on the streets. The longer she is homeless though, the more she realizes what a bad direction her life is headed and how lucky she is to even be alive. She starts to become determined to not only survive, but thrive during her hard times. She starts to have a different perspective on life. This quote from the book summarizes her renewed determination and outlook on life, " Instead, what I was beginning to understand was that however things unfold from here on, whatever the next chapter was, my life could never be the sum of one circumstance. It would be determined, as it had always been, by my willingness to put one foot in front of the other, moving forward, come what may" (Murray 321). This quote shows Liz realizing that her life will be as good as she is determined to make it. It is up to her to put her life back together and make a difference, and the best way to do that is to keep pushing foward in a positive direction, no matter what happens.
My article is a book review of Breaking Night by the New York Times. It reviews the book and gives a quick summary of the story line. "Breaking Night Article"
t go to school and had no direction in life. Yet she rose above her circumstances, and made something out of herself. She didn't let her background and past stop her from achieving success and is and inspiration everywhere for telling her story.
The central theme of Breaking Night is determination to perservere during hard times. This theme emerges when Liz is living out on the streets alone. She decides that she will not be like her parents and will make something of herself. She becomes determined to finish high school and get into a good college. Liz changes what she is determined to do throughout the story depending on what situation she is in. At the beginning of her becoming homeless, she is just determined to survive on the streets. The longer she is homeless though, the more she realizes what a bad direction her life is headed and how lucky she is to even be alive. She starts to become determined to not only survive, but thrive during her hard times. She starts to have a different perspective on life. This quote from the book summarizes her renewed determination and outlook on life, " Instead, what I was beginning to understand was that however things unfold from here on, whatever the next chapter was, my life could never be the sum of one circumstance. It would be determined, as it had always been, by my willingness to put one foot in front of the other, moving forward, come what may" (Murray 321). This quote shows Liz realizing that her life will be as good as she is determined to make it. It is up to her to put her life back together and make a difference, and the best way to do that is to keep pushing foward in a positive direction, no matter what happens.
My article is a book review of Breaking Night by the New York Times. It reviews the book and gives a quick summary of the story line. "Breaking Night Article"
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