Each of us students has been instructed to vote for one book to be included in the reincarnation of English 110. I am casting my vote for "The Alchemist," by Paul Coelho.
For my final presentation and essay in this class, my group chose to represent "The Alchemist." After reading this book, I can wholeheartedly say that this book would be very valuable to other students. The story provides excellent topics for discussion and the plot itself is very interesting.
In summary, the novel follows the journey of a young shepherd named Santiago. Santiago is an educated boy from Spain whose curiosity and restless personality urge him to travel and explore the world. One night, Santiago has a dream about finding buried treasure in the Egyptian Pyramids. The rest of the story consists of Santiago's journey to find his treasure, fulfill his "personal legend," understand "the soul of the world," and meet the alchemist. He meets a variety of characters along his journey, including the gypsy, the merchant, the Englishman, and of course, the alchemist. He also falls in love. Many people describe this story as a tale about "following your dreams." I think that this description is much too cliche. This novel demonstrates the true meaning of treasure, happiness, and love. It also redefines how society views self-worth and the purpose of life itself.
The book itself is very well written. It is only about 165 pages long, so the read itself is quite short. Again, the plot moves very quickly. This makes it very interesting to read. None of the characters are shallow. They all teach Santiago, and the readers, lessons about life.
This book was very hard for me to set down. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to anyone!
Again, this book captures my vote and sincere praise.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Reflection of "In the Shadow of No Towers"
"In the Shadow of No Towers" is a graphic novel written by Art Spiegelman. This was the only graphic novel I have ever read. In this sense, I have no other similarly styled novels to compare it to. So, I am thus comparing my experience reading this book to my experiences reading novels written in prose.
Most of all, I enjoyed the pictures in this book. I think that they made a positive contribution to the goal of the author. The dialouge itself in this story was a bit confusing for me. I understand that America was experiencing quite a difficult time around September 11, 2001. I was only 11 years old at this time, so I did not fully understand what was going on. My memory, however, is about as scattered and chaotic as the character's in this story. The first half of this novel tells the story of man's experiences at the time when the two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. He himself admits that his memories are messy and possibly untrue. His attitude reflects many of Americans, who were most likely in shock on this day. The second half of the book is a collection of political cartoons that all relate to September 11, 2001, in some way. This was the section of the graphic novel that was the most confusing for me. Even now, I admit that I don't completely understand all of the points that were being made. However, I can say that I think that this book critically and effectively examine's our society's tendency to shove our issues and concerns "under the rug." We do not express our true feelings and anxieties. This creates a sense of paranoia, which I believe the U.S. is still demonstrating as we speak.
This was a good book to include in our syllabus. I appreciate the change to read a graphic novel for the first time. This particular one has unearthed some interesting topics of discussion and has been valuable and worthwhile to read.
Most of all, I enjoyed the pictures in this book. I think that they made a positive contribution to the goal of the author. The dialouge itself in this story was a bit confusing for me. I understand that America was experiencing quite a difficult time around September 11, 2001. I was only 11 years old at this time, so I did not fully understand what was going on. My memory, however, is about as scattered and chaotic as the character's in this story. The first half of this novel tells the story of man's experiences at the time when the two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. He himself admits that his memories are messy and possibly untrue. His attitude reflects many of Americans, who were most likely in shock on this day. The second half of the book is a collection of political cartoons that all relate to September 11, 2001, in some way. This was the section of the graphic novel that was the most confusing for me. Even now, I admit that I don't completely understand all of the points that were being made. However, I can say that I think that this book critically and effectively examine's our society's tendency to shove our issues and concerns "under the rug." We do not express our true feelings and anxieties. This creates a sense of paranoia, which I believe the U.S. is still demonstrating as we speak.
This was a good book to include in our syllabus. I appreciate the change to read a graphic novel for the first time. This particular one has unearthed some interesting topics of discussion and has been valuable and worthwhile to read.
Reflection of "Toga Party" by John Barth; from "The Best American Short Stories" ed. Stephen King
One of the short stories that we’ve read for English 110 is “Toga Party” by John Barth. I really did like this story. In short, it was about the lives of and elderly couple. This pair spends most of their days engaging in meaningless conversation about their neighbors or selfish children. One evening, the two decide to attend a house-warming party for one of their new neighbors. The theme of this occasion happens to be “toga party.” The husband, Dick Felton, is not especially enthused to attend, but his wife Sue insists that they make an appearance. Upon their arrival to the gathering, the two are instructed to announce a phrase in Latin. After entering, the two converse with the guests, rambling on about the “good old days” as if they themselves hadn’t changed. By the time the Felton’s arrive back home, Dick is thoroughly depressed, realizing that he and his wife have long surpassed the “good old days.” The party that night had demonstrated to him his lack of interest in life. He explains to his wife, “we’ve had a good life together, but it’s done with except for the crappy last lap, and neither of us wants that.” Sue agrees with him. They decide to remain in the closed garage, with the car engine running and the windows rolled down. The eerie final line of this story plainly states, “the overhead garage light timed out,” symbolizing their lives drawing to a close.
Most of the students in class were upset by the final line of this story. Personally, I was a little surprised by it as well. On the other hand, I thought that the simplicity of it, along with its ghostly candor, was refreshing and genius. I am a huge fan of scary movies. The way in which this story ended was uncommon and very entertaining.
Most of the students in class were upset by the final line of this story. Personally, I was a little surprised by it as well. On the other hand, I thought that the simplicity of it, along with its ghostly candor, was refreshing and genius. I am a huge fan of scary movies. The way in which this story ended was uncommon and very entertaining.
Reflection of "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz
There are many different elements of this novel that make it an interesting story to read. One of the most discussed issues in class was the style of writing that the author employed. A large part of this story was written in Spanish. Personally, I enrolled in two years of Spanish during high school. So, I was not completely lost when it came to the Spanish in this book. There was a large majority of it though that I could not understand. At first, this really irritated me. Never in my life have I encountered this type of obstacle in reading a book. Even after finishing the story, I would have to say that the Spanish still makes me a little uneasy. I feel as if I have missed out on a crucial part of the story by not understanding it. At the same time, my lack of understanding contributues to the lesson that I can gather from the book. Life is not always clearly understandable, just as the lives of Oscar and Lola were. The process of reading this story is the same way. Also, Diaz forces his readers to truely examine the personalities of the characters and the reasons behind their behaviors, especially because the reader can't always understand their speech. For example, the reader cannot always comprehend what Oscar and Lola's mother is saying to her children. We gather the impression that she is distressed and very unhappy, but we do not know exactly how she expresses these em0tions. We gather from reading the reflections of other characters that her anger and frustration is warranted, and we form our own opinions from here.
I think that this was a very good book to include in this class. Honestly, I have never had to work this hard to try to understand a story. In the end, I think that this was the lesson I was meant to learn all along. Reading requires intense effort. There will be times that I won't completely understand something that I've read. This is acceptable.
I think that this was a very good book to include in this class. Honestly, I have never had to work this hard to try to understand a story. In the end, I think that this was the lesson I was meant to learn all along. Reading requires intense effort. There will be times that I won't completely understand something that I've read. This is acceptable.
Reflection of "Water for Elephants"
I have to say that Water for Elephants is so far my favorite book I’ve read in English 110. Maybe this is because there is an element of romance in it. I’m generally not a reader of romance novels, but maybe the fact that the love triangle between three characters in this story was present but not over-powering made it especially enjoyable for me. At any rate, this is definitely a great read and I’d recommend this book to anybody.
The basic plot outline of this book is as follows:
Jacob is an elderly man living a life of relative solitude in a nursing home. He does not have very many friendly acquaintances, albeit for one of the nurses, Rosemary. His family neglects to visit him, which has significant ramifications considering that they day that they have planned to visit was the day that the circus was in town. Overall, Jacob is a sarcastic, fairly pessimistic old man whose only joy is hidden in his memories of life in the circus. The story consists of an account of Jacob’s life in the elderly facility along with flashbacks from his circus days. In these flashbacks, Jacob explains how his parents both tragically died in a car accident while he was away at college. Jacob has already been distinguished as somewhat of an outcast at school, especially when it comes to his virginity. Now that his parents were both gone, he really had no one to feel close to. This caused him to become somewhat of a recluse and eventually, hitch a ride on a travelling circus train. As it turns out, most of the people already employed by this circus production are misfits themselves. Jacob becomes employed by the circus as a veterinarian, despite the fact that he never earned his degree. He shares a train car with Walter, a midget who works as a circus clown and whose best friend is his terrier dog. Jacob befriends a man named August, who “shows him the ropes” around the area. Their relationship becomes strained when Jacob falls in love with August’s wife, Marlena. Both Jacob and Marlena have a passion and deep connection with animals, especially a lively elephant named Rosie. Marlena performs with Rosie and Jacob greatly anticipates every one of their acts. Uncle Al, the headmaster of the circus, becomes somewhat aware of Jacob and Marlena’s affection towards each other. He notices quite soon that Marlena and August begin to quarrel and reject each other. Marlena eventually takes matters into her own hands. One night, chaos has irrupted in the menagerie where all of the animals are kept; Marlena hits August over the head with a large stake and kills him. In the end, Marlena and Jacob marry and live happily together with a few of the retired circus animals. As this flashback ends, Jacob is back in his nursing home. Although he is not content with his personal life, he finds tranquility in the visiting circus. In the end, he realizes that the circus was and always will be his true home.
I have to say that I hardly learned anything new or academically valuable from this book. It was, however, the most enjoyable read. I would love to read more novels by the author, Sara Gruen.
The basic plot outline of this book is as follows:
Jacob is an elderly man living a life of relative solitude in a nursing home. He does not have very many friendly acquaintances, albeit for one of the nurses, Rosemary. His family neglects to visit him, which has significant ramifications considering that they day that they have planned to visit was the day that the circus was in town. Overall, Jacob is a sarcastic, fairly pessimistic old man whose only joy is hidden in his memories of life in the circus. The story consists of an account of Jacob’s life in the elderly facility along with flashbacks from his circus days. In these flashbacks, Jacob explains how his parents both tragically died in a car accident while he was away at college. Jacob has already been distinguished as somewhat of an outcast at school, especially when it comes to his virginity. Now that his parents were both gone, he really had no one to feel close to. This caused him to become somewhat of a recluse and eventually, hitch a ride on a travelling circus train. As it turns out, most of the people already employed by this circus production are misfits themselves. Jacob becomes employed by the circus as a veterinarian, despite the fact that he never earned his degree. He shares a train car with Walter, a midget who works as a circus clown and whose best friend is his terrier dog. Jacob befriends a man named August, who “shows him the ropes” around the area. Their relationship becomes strained when Jacob falls in love with August’s wife, Marlena. Both Jacob and Marlena have a passion and deep connection with animals, especially a lively elephant named Rosie. Marlena performs with Rosie and Jacob greatly anticipates every one of their acts. Uncle Al, the headmaster of the circus, becomes somewhat aware of Jacob and Marlena’s affection towards each other. He notices quite soon that Marlena and August begin to quarrel and reject each other. Marlena eventually takes matters into her own hands. One night, chaos has irrupted in the menagerie where all of the animals are kept; Marlena hits August over the head with a large stake and kills him. In the end, Marlena and Jacob marry and live happily together with a few of the retired circus animals. As this flashback ends, Jacob is back in his nursing home. Although he is not content with his personal life, he finds tranquility in the visiting circus. In the end, he realizes that the circus was and always will be his true home.
I have to say that I hardly learned anything new or academically valuable from this book. It was, however, the most enjoyable read. I would love to read more novels by the author, Sara Gruen.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Film Response: The Kite Runner (part 1)
First of all, I have to say that I absolutely love this story! I have read the novel "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini and have also read his other novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns." Both stories, I think, are very well written and worthwhile reads.
This is my reflection of what on the first fifty minutes or so of the movie The Kite Runner. Although I think that the book version of this story is even better, I do like this movie a lot. The two main characters, Amir and Hassan are nearly inseperable. Their relationship is odd however. Technically, Hassan and his father are the servants of Amir and his father Baba. Baba decided to employ the pair, and has grown extremely fond of them. Hassan and his father are Hazaras, meaning that they are a certain race of Afghanistani people who are widely considered the "inferior ethnicity" compared to the Pashtun people. Amir and Hassan were instantly friends. Hassan runs after broken kites whenever Amir competes in a kite-flying competition and is able to cut the string of his adversaries. Amir is also more educated than Hassan. He knows how to read and write, and is often off reading fantasy stories to Hassan. Hassan is obsessed with learning to read. He is also unnaturally loyal to Amir. After one scene, in which Amir cowardly runs away from bullies while Hassan is attached and raped, Hassan refuses to admit that anything bad has happened and is intent on running another kite for his friend. As Amir's guilt begins to grow about his cowardice, Hassan's loyalty does not waiver. He even allows his distraught friend to pelt him with fruit without any defense. Hassan even smears his own head with one piece of the fruit. I think that his attachment only drives Amir deeper and deeper into sorrrow and guilt. He knows that he treats his "friend" horribly and doesn't deserve such love. Yet, he receives unconditional love and respect anyway. Amir will most likely grow to resent Hassan because of this. I think he's also jealous of him because he never complains or shows any hatred, especially because Hassan has every right to do so. Amir has everything handed to him on a silver platter, yet he is still not content with this life. His father seems to enjoy being around Hassan more than his own son, and he regards him as a coward also. Amir and Hassan's relationship is bittersweet. As I see it, Amir has taken advantage of Hassan's friendship for a very long time. After Hassan is raped, he begins to realize how much of their friendship he actually takes for granted. At this point in the story, Amir is going through somewhat of a transitional period in his maturity and in his relationship with Hassan. Their relationship will only continue to change as the story progresses.
This is my reflection of what on the first fifty minutes or so of the movie The Kite Runner. Although I think that the book version of this story is even better, I do like this movie a lot. The two main characters, Amir and Hassan are nearly inseperable. Their relationship is odd however. Technically, Hassan and his father are the servants of Amir and his father Baba. Baba decided to employ the pair, and has grown extremely fond of them. Hassan and his father are Hazaras, meaning that they are a certain race of Afghanistani people who are widely considered the "inferior ethnicity" compared to the Pashtun people. Amir and Hassan were instantly friends. Hassan runs after broken kites whenever Amir competes in a kite-flying competition and is able to cut the string of his adversaries. Amir is also more educated than Hassan. He knows how to read and write, and is often off reading fantasy stories to Hassan. Hassan is obsessed with learning to read. He is also unnaturally loyal to Amir. After one scene, in which Amir cowardly runs away from bullies while Hassan is attached and raped, Hassan refuses to admit that anything bad has happened and is intent on running another kite for his friend. As Amir's guilt begins to grow about his cowardice, Hassan's loyalty does not waiver. He even allows his distraught friend to pelt him with fruit without any defense. Hassan even smears his own head with one piece of the fruit. I think that his attachment only drives Amir deeper and deeper into sorrrow and guilt. He knows that he treats his "friend" horribly and doesn't deserve such love. Yet, he receives unconditional love and respect anyway. Amir will most likely grow to resent Hassan because of this. I think he's also jealous of him because he never complains or shows any hatred, especially because Hassan has every right to do so. Amir has everything handed to him on a silver platter, yet he is still not content with this life. His father seems to enjoy being around Hassan more than his own son, and he regards him as a coward also. Amir and Hassan's relationship is bittersweet. As I see it, Amir has taken advantage of Hassan's friendship for a very long time. After Hassan is raped, he begins to realize how much of their friendship he actually takes for granted. At this point in the story, Amir is going through somewhat of a transitional period in his maturity and in his relationship with Hassan. Their relationship will only continue to change as the story progresses.
Film Response: Everything is Illuminated
The film Everything is Illuminated incorporates a variety of genres, including both comedy and drama. The beginning of the film introduces the viewers to Alexander and his grandfather, two Ukrainian misfits whose individuality suprisingly and ironically bonds them together. The pair are hired to escort a young Jewish American man whom they affectionately name "Jon-fen" around Ukraine in search of a town he believes to be called Trachembrod. "Jon-fen," otherwise known as Jonathan Safran Foer, tags along with Alex, his grandfather, and the elderly man's seeing-eye dog (of whom he is deathly afraid) on a long journey to discover more about his family history. He believes that at Trachembrod he will find a women who was connected, romantically or otherwise, to his grandfather. Along the way, these three men and their dog discover new things about each others' lives, culture, and their shared connection in humanity.
Alex's grandfather acts as a rather static character during most of the story. Towards the end, however, he changes his demeanor radically. The group of travelers meet one of the last remaining Jewish survivors of the Nazi raid on Trachembrod. It is also revealed to the audience that Alex's grandfather was a Jewish man who also survived the attack many years earlier. The grumpy old man's behavior suddenly seems justified. Not long after all is revealed about Trachembrod, the grandfather kills himself, bleeding to death in his bath tub. There's no clear reason for why he does this. My guess is that he finally came to peace with this past and the pain he had to deal with at Trachembrod. I can't even imagine how I would feel to be the one of two survivors of an horrific ordeal during which all of my friends and family were killed. It seems to me that one result of the "post-traumatic guilt" that he was experiencing was that he tended to bottle up all of his memories of and feelings about Trachembrod. This was why the only emotion he seemed to display was animosity or bitterness. Then, after talking to the woman who survived, he was able to connect with someone who truely knew the turmoil he was going through. In a way, that unload of guilt and emotional connection comforted him. He was at peace. In his mind, there was nothing else to live for. The sadness surrounding Trachembrod was the only thing that had any meaning to him, and now that it was lessened, there was nothing else that could have kept him alive. This is why I suspect that he committed suicide.
Alex's grandfather acts as a rather static character during most of the story. Towards the end, however, he changes his demeanor radically. The group of travelers meet one of the last remaining Jewish survivors of the Nazi raid on Trachembrod. It is also revealed to the audience that Alex's grandfather was a Jewish man who also survived the attack many years earlier. The grumpy old man's behavior suddenly seems justified. Not long after all is revealed about Trachembrod, the grandfather kills himself, bleeding to death in his bath tub. There's no clear reason for why he does this. My guess is that he finally came to peace with this past and the pain he had to deal with at Trachembrod. I can't even imagine how I would feel to be the one of two survivors of an horrific ordeal during which all of my friends and family were killed. It seems to me that one result of the "post-traumatic guilt" that he was experiencing was that he tended to bottle up all of his memories of and feelings about Trachembrod. This was why the only emotion he seemed to display was animosity or bitterness. Then, after talking to the woman who survived, he was able to connect with someone who truely knew the turmoil he was going through. In a way, that unload of guilt and emotional connection comforted him. He was at peace. In his mind, there was nothing else to live for. The sadness surrounding Trachembrod was the only thing that had any meaning to him, and now that it was lessened, there was nothing else that could have kept him alive. This is why I suspect that he committed suicide.
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