Farenheit 451 2

As I fininsh the book, I realize that I love this book. Great story line and I can see why it is one of America's favorite books.

I loved reading about one part inparticular. In this section, Montag describes his hands, which he blames for stealing the book, as infected and relates how the “poison” spreads into the rest of his body. This reveals that Montag lacks awareness of his true motivations and that some unconscious force is overpowering his conscious, rational self. Bradbury implies that Montag’s defiance and thirst for truth are innate and instinctive but that they have been repressed by a culture that relies on ignorance, complacency, and easy pleasures.

Nonetheless, after stealing the book Montag experiences an intense, disorienting fear. He tries to draw some emotional support from his wife, seeking desperately to remember where they first met. This bit of information takes on a symbolic significance for him as he realizes that he does not truly feel connected to her. Montag is frightened by Mildred’s pill-taking habits, but not because he truly cares whether she lives or dies. His fear actually stems from the fact that he doesn’t really love her and is trying to avoid acknowledging that fact.

Bradbury uses several devices to heighten the tension of the chase sequence, including the use of dramatic pauses (such as when the Hound pauses on Faber’s lawn), the description of the Hound’s progress from Montag’s perspective, and the countdown to the “look-out” in which everybody is to open their doors. This latter device effectively pits the entire city against Montag and creates a definite time factor (as opposed to the progress of the Hound, which is an undetermined distance away from Montag). Montag has to make an effort to remember that he is not watching a fictional drama but his own life unfolding on twenty million TV screens.

Montag leaves the frightening unreality of the city, which he thinks of as a stage of actors and a séance of ghosts, and enters the world of the countryside, which feels equally unreal to him because of its newness. Drifting peacefully down the river into darkness, Montag finally experiences the quiet and freedom that he needs to think.

Thanks Farenheit 451! Loved it

Farenheit 451, blog one

I started this book and liked it so far. Can't wait to read more!

I have never been one to read science fiction type books, and while Fahrenheit 451 might not be completely science fiction, I was completely intrigued with its futuristic appeal. I think the main reason I enjoyed its futuristic aspect is because I can see an uncanny similarity between Bradbury's description and Americans' current actions. I think the book as a whole has been great so far. Even though it took me a while to get into the book and understand the plot line and the characters, I grew to appreciate and enjoy both. The main thing I appreciate about Bradbury's book; however, is that he uses this book as a warning to many Americans in order to stop the future from becoming what he knew it could become.

Montag is disturbed by his meeting with Clarisse because he is not used to talking with people about personal subjects. Upon returning home, he realizes that he is not happy after all, and that his appearance of happiness up to this point has been a pretense. He continues to experience feelings of foreboding. He finds his wife, Mildred, in bed listening to earplug radios called “Seashells,” just as he has found her every night for the past two years. By her bed, he accidentally kicks an empty bottle of sleeping pills and calls the hospital just as a sonic boom from a squadron of jet bombers shakes the house. Two cynical hospital workers arrive with a machine that pumps Mildred’s stomach (Montag later refers to the device as the “Snake”) and another that replaces all her poisoned blood with fresh blood. Montag goes outside and listens to the laughter and the voices coming from the brightly lit McClellan house. Montag goes inside again and considers all that has happened to him that night. He feels terribly disoriented as he takes a sleep lozenge and dozes off.

Captain Beatty comes by to check on Montag, saying that he guessed Montag would be calling in sick that day. He tells Montag that every fireman runs into the “problem” he has been experiencing sooner or later, and he relates to him the history of their profession. Beatty’s monologue borders on the hysterical, and his tendency to jump from one thing to another without explaining the connection makes his history very hard to follow. Part of the story is that photography, film, and television made it possible to present information in a quickly digestible, visual form, which made the slower, more reflective practice of reading books less popular. Another strand of his argument is that the spread of literacy, and the gigantic increase in the amount of published materials, created pressure for books to be more like one another and easier to read (like Reader’s Digest condensed books). Finally, Beatty says that “minorities” and special-interest groups found so many things in books objectionable that people finally abandoned debate and started burning books.

Well, As you can see, the book is getting interesting. I like the story line and can't wait to read more.

Life of Pi 4

I finally finished Life of Pi! Being such a lengthy book, I thought I never would, but I did, and it is my second favorite book we've read in class. I was, however, highly disappointed in the ending when Richard Parker just walked into the jungle and Pi didn't get to say his good byes. I felt that they had formed such a strong relationship that their separation would've been a little more heart felt.

Many parts of the end of the book I enjoyed. Like when he describes this: The voice spoke of beef and brains and all sorts of food that Pi found to be repulsing. He assumes the voice is just RP but soons finds out it is a castaway, old man, seeking food. Pi begins questioning the voice if he had ever killed someone. Yes -- a man as well as a woman. The two join boats when suddenly the man comes aboard to kill and cannabalize Pi...but, of course, RP comes to the rescue and kills the man. Pi weeps and washes his eyes out with seawater...and he is no longer blind!

Pi's religious belief seemed to fade in this last part, not to say that it wasn't there, it was just mentioned less and less as it went on. Another observation I made was that the two interviewers were jerks. Pi just got off the Pacific Ocean after 227 days, and they just treated him like horribly.

Well the book is over and I know I learned a lot about the book, the author, and Pi. I really enjoyed it am now ready for the next book.

Life of Pi 3

Diving into the book, Im reading more and more of what I maybe like to read. Hopefully this will last throughout the whole entire book.

Just as I already knew, this part was definatly more interesting than the first part of the book was. It didn't seem as random and now it seems to have a point and the story flows a lot better as well. However there were still a few parts that we're confusing because the way that the author wrote some parts were a bit, confusing. For example, when Pi first got in the boat and for awhile Richard Parker just disappeared. He wasn't even mentioned for a couple of chapters. One thing I really was how gory some parts were, like when he was discribing the animals killing each other because after reading other, non action books, it is nice to have a bit of death and fight in it. I cant believe how much more interesting the second part is compared to the first part. I do admire Pi for going through everything though. Personally, I dont know if i could have done it, but I can fish and blood and gore doesnt really bother me. I liked this part of the book, but can not wait for the next part.

So Pi is still on the boat. Just doing whatever he can to survive. I don’t know how I would handle something like that. I don’t think I could deal with the monotony of it all, doing the same thing day after day after day. I would get extremely bored. But I guess when your life depends on it, and you are in the boat with a tiger, it’s hard to think about how boring it is. I thought it was interesting though how Martel shows Pi becoming more and more like an animal itself. He “marks his territory” and kills fish with his bare hands. Though, there are clear distinctions that show he is still human.

He still keeps up with his religions and prays and everything which is cool. It was sad though when he had to kill the fish for the first time after having been a vegetarian. I haven’t killed anything more than like a bug so I think that would be really difficult. I would probably be emotional too. But then after he kills it, he doesn’t really have a problem with killing things. He even drank turtle blood which I thought was kind of strange. I don’t think I could do that.

I don't think I connect with the character as much as I used to but I know I like the book more and more.

Life of Pi 2

As I continue on in Life of Pi, I continue enjoying it. His story is like no others and interesting to read and learn how he lives.

I love  the stories about the inner workings of the zoo and how Pi takes so much pride in explaining to those  that he cares about about the zoo. In the one scene when he shows Mr. Kumar and Mr. Kumar around the zoo, I found it interesting how Pi not only views the zoo as a place that he is familiar with, but it is a place he connects with and finds ways to show his piers.

Even though I liked the first part of this reading assignment, I am on the fence for the second part. As the animals and Pi are stuck on the lifeboat, the hyena becomes crazy and bites off the zebra's broken leg. Not only does the hyena so that, it then also removes the orangutan's head. This violence and brutality teaches Pi the lesson that the qualities a human or animal exhibit when unprovoked can vary extremely from those that same human or animal will show if encountered with.

Anyway, I like the book as a whole. I find it amazing how Pi relates everything to the zoo and how it plays a big roll in his life. Good book!

Life of Pi- 1

Starting out, reading the book, I figured it would be like all the books we read in highschool and in this class, just another one to get through. I read the first 10 chapters and realized this wasn't like the other books we have read. It holds a feeling that makes you want to keep reading. I haven't figured out if it is a good book or not yet, but from the first couple of chapters, I find it to have a different outlook than other books.

Now when I heard this was about a boy and a tiger...stuck on a boat....I found myself wondering how it would make for a good read and how in the heck could this happen. But it's fiction, who cares how.

Starting off, you read about Pi's background and his struggles. How his story differs from anyone elses, tremendously. One of the things I like most about the beginning was when he talked about the zoo and how he grew up there. Pi learned about freedom, nature habbits, and his own personal beliefs. I thought this was a really neat way for the author to develop the characters for us.

Some parts were confusing, although, because of the context and how the author puts it. It's hard to describe and hopefully I can find out how to describe it as I keep reading. I do like, how he uses the zoo to point out his life. How it is a place where animals say "stay out". He mentions that all the animals are content and can socialize with them. I like this part.

I know many other events will come in this book and I can't wait to read them. I enjoy reading fiction and hopefully this will go on my books to recommend list.

Color of Water 3

Towards ending the book, I couldn't decide if I liked it as a whole or not. I couldn't because I found the ending chapters to be somewhat repetitive and I quickly got disinterested. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the first half of the book but I'm not so sure about the end. Well the book is done regardless. I found this book to be more interesting than other reads although many stories were similar.

One thing I truly liked about the whole book is that we see both the mother's story and the son's story from their points of view. We see how the mother had to transition from how she grew up and look at it in a different way of how her kids are growing up, given the circumstances. Through the son, we, well I, learned about a whole life that I didn't know much about. How he lived in a bad part of town, how he had a mother of different race, and how the made it day to day. This book makes me appreciate the life that I am blessed with even more than I already do.

As I mentioned before, I got bored towards the end. I got used to their stories and it just kept going on and on. I felt like they just kept going and not taking time to talk about other things. I only disliked towards the end, though, which is why I can't make a decision if I liked the book or not.

Well after fully thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that I did like the book. And I am glad I got to read it.

Color of Water 2

Thank goodness for this book. I am loving it. The connection between the mother and James. The heartbreaking yet can't stop reading stories and trials. I can't get enough of it. I love all of it.

One thing becoming more and more evident is the mother and son's stories are very much different. We continue to see his story as the book goes on and learn more and more about his present life while we also see how the mother lived in her past. She grew up well, he isn't.

We also see the religious side of the family as a whole. In chapter six, the first sentence reads "Mommy loved God." Continiuing to read, we find that religion was quite important in their house hold. They learn the stories and tell them to family members. They go to church. And we see that the mother is always reminding them to go to church. I find that very important in a household.

As the book goes on we learn more and more about the family and venture to see how they live differently than the others in their environment. As the book goes on, I look forward to learning and reading about new things with the family. It seems that although my lifestyle is none like theirs', I still find myself connecting with the characters and getting into the book. I think that makes me enjoy the book even more than I already do.

The Color of Water 1

When I got the book, I was hoping it would be better than On Writing. I was pleased. This book being a black man's tribute to his white mother had me thinking I might not get that into it. But I was wrong. I find myself wanting to read more and more. Although many stories are sad, they're also moving and inspirational. As we read about how much this son loved and looked up to his mother, we might learn a little ourselves on how we should be more grateful for the lives that we have.

The connection between the man and his mother is like no other. We read about many moments and memories they spent together, but mostly hard times and discrimination. Being in the time of the Civil Rights Movement, discrimination and hatred was at its worst.

Some moments you love to read about. For instance, he explains how everyday, as a child, he would get off the bus and his mom would be waiting for him everytime. She would walk him back home and share their day's events and have mother son time. He mentions how with having 12 children in the house, it's hard to have one on one time with mom, especially since she's a single mom who works all the time. We dive into how these instances make their reltionship closer than that of the other children in the family. We also see how he would stay up at night to wait for her and have deep conversations that consisted of his repeated "Where?" or "Why?". The mother would always be happy to answer but never fail to ask "Why so many questions?"

Yes, many moments were sweet and treasured, but those of harshness and troubles outweighed those of kindness. We learn from him that being a black child with a white mother definitely meant he was unlike all other children. He talks about how she walks around, although she is the only white woman of many, many blacks. He states that he is worried about her safety and that she doesn't think too much about it. The fact that he cares this much about his mother gives me an idea on how their relationship affects him. He loves her and thinks she is some kind of woman to live in an all black community and deal with being called a "nigger lover" or "look at that white b****". He had a great respect and love for his mother and it is obvious through his experiences and memories.

On Writing: Final Blog

Well, the reading is done. On Writing is complete. Stephen King has made a final impact on me. He has taught me about not only writing, but the art of it and his reasons behind his carreer. From his stories as youth to his critical opinions as an adult, King succeeds in taking us on a literature journey.

By begginning the book with his stories and past memories, Stephen King got me hooked on reading it. I loved reading about how he got started writing and his school times. I think the reason I favored this part of the book is in some way or another, I related to him. I felt that where he came from and how he was writing was quite understandable. He tells a story about how he got rejected many times as a youth AND an adult. I think including your failures along with your successes is important for any writer to do.

He had a certain spazz to his stories and I think that spazz was his humor. Sad or forgetful, King always made me laugh. Apart from his crued language, his simple jokes and sayings put a little of his personality on each individual story. He used a lot of parallelism in his writing as well: "Miss Hisler asking why I wanted to waste my talent, why I wanted to waste my time, why I wanted to write junk." Although this isn't funny, it still adds to the meaning of the sentence.

So enough about the first half of the book, what about the second half? Well I wish the first half would have kept going. I don't know why, I just found the second half of the book unenjoyable. He talked about the actual parts and ways of writing. Sure he still had some humor and funny moments but not enough to get into. I do like how he put his opinion on the use of some literary devices, though. I think that adds to the fact that he knows what he is talking about. (but of course i didnt agree with him on a lot of things).

We learn from King that writing is not just a physical act of writing words that come to your mind that happen to make up a story. Yet, we learn that writing is an art, a lifestyle, a means of expressing your thoughts and opinions in YOUR own way. We learn that, like King, writing has a personal side to it. All writers have certain reasons for their writing. There are tons of reasons writers choose this as a carreer for the rest of their lives. For King, it's to do what he loves best. I found that King was like no other writer. He had some high and low points but all in all, I'm glad I read the book. I think King hopes to make an impact on people so that we will remember his uniqueness and use of words and phrases. He uses many metaphors, comparisons, and imagery to help us connect to his purpose. I know they helped me. I don't think I will become a writer but I do know that I have a greater respect for the art, itself. As said in the title, we must always remember that writing isn't just an action, but a craft.

On Writing 3

Finally, it's done. After reading the words of the last page, it hit me that I don't have to read this book anymore. Don't get me wrong, the book was interesting.....at first. Then I kind of got bored. The last half is about writing styles and tools that he agrees or disagrees with. Many I was with him, many I was not. For instance, he writes about symbolism and why one should use it. I agree with him in that if a writer chooses to use it, he or she must know how to use it and the point they are trying to make. So know what you're talking about.

I'm guessing the reason why I wasn't too fond of the ending is I just got bored. Many of the things he said was a repetition but some of it was interesting, I must say. He talked about how maybe the reason many people don't like to read and or write is they don't find the joy in it. He talks about how you must find that connection, that bridge between the author and yourself. The human minds connect although there are different opinions and outlooks. He mentions that if you are writing a book that you must give it time to marinate. After completeing it, don't touch, look at, or even be around it or you will be tempted to review and possibly change things that don't need changing. But I don't think it takes 6 weeks, as he said, for it to go unlooked at. At least 4 but you should get an amount suitable for you. It is YOUR book!

So basically, I'm glad I read it. I learned a lot not only about the aret of writing but about Stephen King, himself. His humor, honesty, bluntness, and more. I find that if you read and learn something about somethings that was not the point of the book, it makes your read unique. And this, my firend, was some type of unique.

State of the Union Address

I had never watched a State of the Union Address before so I had no idea what to expect. I also didn't have a set opinion on if I supported or disliked Obama. One thing they mentioned before he began his speach was how the democrats and republican were not split up on each side. Many had their opinions on this unusual setting but I believe it really didn't do much. If anything, it shows that maybe we can work together as Americans.

He starts off his speach by recognizing the shooting in Touson and telling how we have been affected because of it. Then he slowly moves into his new idea on curing our country's issues. He said he is determined that in order to make change for the positive, we must work together. I completely agree. Although the mixing of opposite opinions is basically arguing for debate, if we get past that, things can be taken one at a time and thoughtfuly TOGETHER. To put a bright side to the recession, Obama says that we must look at the progress instead of dwelling in the past. This might be true but along with our progress, we must see what needs to be fixed. I like how he focuses on the future rather than the past but what about today. I think he must put his "plans" into play now!

Obama also talked about his nifty "3 steps" for improving America. One was encouragin innovation. Change must happen constantly. Although we are in debt, we are still the leading power in the world. This has a lot to do with our innovation. America is full of genius scientists. The trick is to mesh all their ideas and knoweledge together and innovation could be unstoppable. But my question is how will it improve anything besides beating other countries in inventions? We must sacrifice to go through change but it calls for a great outcome. Next step was education. Everyone knows that with good education comes good products. With Obama's new action of  "Race to the Top" will heighten the standards in highschools. Many students drop out every year and that is unacceptable so I agree with him on that. But If we heighten the standards of learning, will that make a new reason for unsuccessful students? It weighs heavily on the parents as well. Lowering tuition at colleges, giving more credit to teachers and working on immigration will also affect the learning process and he plans on making changes in this area too. Lastly, Rebuilding America. Haven't we heard this before! He states that we are slowly but surely becoming partners with other nations. We have made agreements with India, China, etc. Highering exports as well. What's the goal here? I think we just need to slow down and look at what we are considering. I agree with most things but have my opinon on many. That's our president for ya!

Health Care!! No one will be rejected because of their conditions or past. Everyone deserves it. We can't do anything about taxes for wealthy people but we can sure make things better in this field. Debt is what people are waiting to hear about from him. He said that he is willing to freeze salarys and reduce spending. Now salary cuts are important but over exaggeration is unnecessary. (so is under-cutting). Think also of the retiree's. Notice that Obama didn't mention anything about this until now. He has talked about other things but went 34 minutes without mentioning America's debt. Weird? I think so.

Other things about the speech are that the news anchor's mentioned that standing ovations were not constant like they have been in the past. Is it because of the unsual split? I think that has a lot to do with it. Especially since he wasn't expecting it. You could tell in the way he was talking that he is use to people standing during that part. (or it might just be the untrendy way he talks). He begins to close up the talk with the all famous "American Dream" saying. It is what drives us. We might be little people, but we have big dreams. That.....is what shapes.......America today. It is because of our people, no our family, that makes us such a unique country.

I do think that a lot of what he stated is true and worthwile but it will take time and a lot of patience. I will take a while for people to hop on board, and especially to steer the boat. He believes it will happen. We'll just have to see......he's got 2 more years.

"We.......are a nation......a union......a family of change.......we can do it.......we have......the future."- Obama

On Writing 2

"I didn't know what else I might find to do once I got out here, did I? It's best to have your tools with  you. If you don't, you're apt to find something you didn't expect and get discouraged." Isn't that a true statement. Through King's metaphor of a toolbox, he here gives us a glimpse as to why this section is called that. That toolbox hold tools while King's toolbox hold the tools of writing.

From his funny stories to his memorable advice, King continues to write with ease. One major thing that kept me interested is his wit and humor. As he compares adverbs to dandelions, I sensed a type of humor behind it.  He mentions that it is important to have something different than all other writers so you can hold your position. Humor is one of his. I learned some things I didn't know as well (grammar wise).

Reading this book I have come to the conclusion that Stephen King doesn't care if what he says is offensive. In some cases, I would've said the same thing. This helps him connect with the audience. His style of writing is very blunt as well. He likes to get his point across. Although, many times he includes details that I could live without.

So without a doubt, King knows what he is sayinig. Some things I didn't fully agree with but I see what he means. Can't wait to finish it!

On Writing 1

     I'm not a big reader so I didn't know what to expect from this, especially since I had never read Stephen King before. I thought it was gonna be more than just his stories but that is basically what it was. I like how he interprets his stories to keep the interest of the reader. I seldomly got bored and wanted to read more. One thing about his experiences is that he has good detail. He has a point with each description as well. This way it's not just oh hey let's read about King's past, but it's how his past relates to where he is now, and he succeeds in showing how they pertain to his point. For example, King talks about how he loved movies. He continues on to explain how that connected to his writing by him writing about the movies and selling them to classmates at school. In this, we also see King's good humor (which we see throughout the book). He also is good with connecting with the audience through his experiences. That might be the key to keeping the readers' interest because of his stories. The one thing I find negative about the read is his language. Yes, it could be a lot worse, but in many cases, it's not necessary. In fact, I think it weakens a passage because you know he can find higher language to use other than those certain words. It's not as bad as i anticipated, though. His transitions between stories weren't the best at times but easy to understand. After reading his stories, i believe he knows what he is talking about and he likes writing about it. He gives off a sense of a relaxed vibe which makes is easier to read. All in all, it has been a good book so far. It's only the begginning though! Hopefully it will continue to be good.