Blog Post Reflection 2015

                 
         In my blog post, "Continuing with 'Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger", I went to the extreme in decomposing my independent reading novel. This is because I started off by explaining how funny and irresponsible Holden Caulfield really is. An example I provide is when I tell the readers how Holden was the helper for the fencing team, but on their way to the competition, Holden forgets to grab the equipment as they get off the subway they took there, giving the team last place because they couldn't even compete! But of course, Holden didn't let that incident put him down, because not only is he irresponsible, but he is also careless and independent, which are both good and bad things. Along with explaining his relationship with classmates, I also decompose the relationship he had with his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, and how they are still close, even though the teacher actually flunked him in history. This scene is extremely ironic and brings a good vibe to the book as a whole. I believe that analyzing the theme and importance of a novel is also very important and that is exactly what I did for my last paragraph, which included my thoughts before reading the book, and how those thoughts were twisted as I neared the conclusion of it, and what I knew the author wanted me to take away from it.


        I have many goals for my future writing in sophomore year. But my main goal is to be able to analyze a character based on the first couple of chapters of diction and action. I want this achieved because I believe the protagonist is the delivery man for the author's theme, which is mainly why the novel is written in the first place. If the theme isn't understood, then the reader has wasted a chunk of their life being confused. I would also love to improve on identifying author's voice through what the main character has to say. This is also important in identifying the message or take-away because if you can hear the author through a character, you can also identify their bias in the matter and what they are trying to achieve by writing the novel. With regards to reading, I would like to read very high level and challenging books that are hard to decompose and understand so that I am prepared for future books later in high-school and college. Some of these books include "Pride and Prejudice", "To Kill a Mockingbird", and "The Scarlet Letter". These books have been mentioned throughout my lifetime and I cannot wait to breath in their wonderful messages!

Link: http://lexiesreadinglog.blogspot.com/2015/04/continuing-with-catcher-in-rye-by-jd.html

Relationships with "Catcher and the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

                 With regards to the director of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, John Hughes, I do think, took many ideas from "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. In addition to this, I also think that in the end, these two popular phenomenons will end with the same or similar messages; sometimes you just need to relax and be a teenager. I know that this is an extremely far-fetched claim, but I have a multitude of evidence. To start off, Ferris Bueller's Day Off came out in 1986, while "The Catcher in the Rye" came out in 1951. This shows how John Hughes brought an old classic into the late 1980's to become popular in that era as well as in the 1950 era. I also know that there have been many other sources targeting both of these topics. For instance, the song "We didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel, mentions the novel and that just displays the importance it had in 1989, which was only three years away from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Luckily all three of these timeless memories are still here and appreciated today. 

                 Going along with Ferris and Holden, I almost feel like they are the exact same person! They both absolutely hate going to school, and are both extremely opinionated and hilarious. I find myself laughing super hard every time they think or say something. I predict that Holden will eventually learn his lesson that school is extremely important to your future, just as Ferris learned. If I could change one thing about Holden throughout the book though, I would change his inner thoughts, and make some of them outer so I could experience some of the other character's reactions to the his dialogue. You definitely see a lot of this in the film production, because thoughts aren't usually translated in movies towards an audience. 

               To conclude this blog post, I would like to make a few predictions to the future of the book. Because I have viewed the movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I can conclude that Holden will learn a very important lesson in the end that he avoided in the beginning of the book. That his history teacher, Mr. Stradlater, was right. He needs to start applying and learning instead of just being a rebel at every single school he attends. Sure there is a time and place for being crazy and being a teenager, but he must learn to act like an adult at sometime, and that should be now rather than later in life. As a High-School student, I know that it is easy to slack off and wait until the last minute, but I usually make sure it gets done, and hopefully Holden will too!

                                       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KFVLWX7eEY

                                          (Opening Monologue from Ferris Bueller's Day Off) 

    

Continuing with "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

              I am really starting to enjoy and giggle at this classic and extremely popular novel written by the legendary J.D. Salinger! I am seriously amazed at how well this guy knows the teenage boy's brain, who is the main character, in this book. The main character's name is Holden Caulfield, and man is he a troublemaker! Where do I even begin to explain what I know so far about this guy? Well, for starters, he has gotten kicked out of apparently every school he has been to (he is sixteen by the way!). I do not even comprehend how he got kicked out of every school, does he even try to improve? Not to mention he is extremely careless and irresponsible! An example if this is when he and the fencing team (a team that he assists quite often) were off to an extremely important competition, but guess what? Holden left all of the equipment on the subway that they were taking to the destination (go figure). Although there are so many negatives about this kid, there are lots of positive attributes as well.


            So going back to those positives, I do believe that Holden is a good kid at heart. This is because he had a history teacher named Mr. Spencer, that he dearly loved and enjoyed to spend time with, but the catch is that this specific teacher gave him a flunking grade for his class! Pretty ironic, isn't it? The part I find so funny is that when Holden goes to visit Mr. and Mrs. Spencer while he is deadly sick, Holden runs all of these hilarious (and extremely mean) comments through his head as they are having an annoying and unneeded conversation. An example of this is when Holden explains why he knows he deserved a flunking grade; "Well, you could see he really felt pretty lousy about flunking me. So I shot the bull for a while. I told him I was a real moron,and all that stuff. I told him how I would've done exactly the same thing if I'd been in his place, and how most people didn't appreciate how tough it is being a teacher. That kind of stuff. The old bull." As you can probably tell by this vivid example, Holden most likely has a few grudges towards this teacher, even if he doesn't want to openly admit it to everyone (meaning the readers).




            To be honest, I absolutely love this book! It is so funny and so true at the exact same time. I don't think I have ever read a book that accomplished both of those tasks. I was truthfully expecting this novel to be super boring and metaphorical, but it is the exact opposite of all of my prior predictions! I now understand why it is such a big book, in the late 1980's to now, it never loses it's truth, because human nature is displayed in this individual's actions and choices, and it shows our limits along with our freedoms. I have not seen too much of these aspects currently, but I can definitely feel them coming soon to add to the many hidden metaphors in this novel already. I am very excited to read further and learn more about Holden Caulfield!

[This is a picture of Holden Caulfield, strongly expressing his beliefs]

Starting Fresh with "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

              As I just begin to turn the pages of this classic novel, I already see an extremely amazing character build-up taking place. This obvious teenager has an elaborate past to explain in this book, and I already know from just two pages in that he is very unique and out-going, which could end up being a good or bad thing based upon where this book is headed. The first thing that really caught my eye was the title, because it is most likely an underlying message of the theme, like the "Lord of the Flies", because that book isn't actually about a fly lord! The definition of rye is a "widely cultivated cereal grain" (dictionary.com). This could mean that the boy catches the grain or plant as soon as it sprouts instead of catching it later on in life. So basically, he (or she) is fixing their problems first-hand instead of waiting because that never works out well. This is just an assumption of the theme, but I have a feeling that I am becoming closer and closer to realizing the true message. 

           While researching on this book, I decided to ask my mother if she had read it before and what she thought of it. She said that she did read it before and she thought that it was very unusual and weird because the whole book took place in one day. I was very surprised at this statement because this is a pretty long book, so how could it possibly fill only one 24 hour time period? I then asked what it was about and she had no idea. So you can probably guess that I am extremely excited to read this book because if my own mom was confused and baffled by it, then it must be pretty challenging. And I sure do love a good mental challenge!

          To conclude this blog post, I want to make a few predictions for the set-up, climax, and resolution. I first want to start by saying that I am sure that the beginning will be an extensive explanation of this teens previous life, and how it was changed by this one moment. The climax will most likely be full of twists and turns in his/her future that defines them for the conclusion. I do hope that I am close to being correct on those assumptions because I love a great plot twist. "Catcher in the "Rye" seems like such an old classic, that I couldn't help but give it another glance as it sat on my mom's dusty old book case. But I am sure glad that I did because I can already feel it sucking me into the fun mystery yet to come!

 

Example/ Analyzing of Satire

Satire is a way to laugh or make fun of literature, cartoons, or even parodies in videos or pictures. In these two examples of satire, it is quite obvious that Hitler is the victim of the giggles. In this first cartoon, Hitler is portrayed as an ugly beast who wants everything to be about himself, as he displays by saying "...Because apparently they approve of mine!" when responding to the 'Tea Party' proposal, most likely in World War II. A hyperbole is crucial to this cartoon, because although Hitler did want everything in his control during the  European war, it is much more humorous to exaggerate it to the extreme when remembering how much he wanted to hurt others. In the second cartoon, made by Dr. Seuss, who helped make American propaganda during World War II, distorts Hitler's image even more, and puts the United States in an even higher status. In the background of the picture, you can see that some of the trees are labeled 'Greece', 'Norway', 'Poland', and 'France', with the bird (as Hitler) currently chopping down England. Dr. Seuss then shows the United States as an even bigger more powerful bird that Hitler hasn't touched. This shows more of a farce type of satire because of the exaggeration and horseplay shown by Hitler's need for power, and how it didn't effect America. Although the first cartoon displayed a burlesque type of satire, and the second showed a farce kind, they are both equally funny and appeal to human knowledge of humor and World War II's past.

Full Reflection of Three Columns by Krista Ramsey

I chose this article at first because I am one to ignore jail problems and the prisoners in them, but after reading this wonderful article, I now see that there are real people in there with real feelings. If just a few brave people step up to volunteer and talk to the people in jail, they might actually change their actions, for the better of our community, they just need a little love.



http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/10/19/jail-program-needs-volunteers-willing-listen/17531835/


"Standing in front of that first prison, all I could think of was the word fail."

EXPLANATION: I chose this specific line over all of the other lines because it has a very strong hidden meaning. What I mean when I say this is that the reader gets to decide how to decipher this sentence. I think that it is saying something about any individual in the jail cell, that one bad move that cost them five years, to a life sentence shows that they definitely screwed up, and failed to do anything meaningful in their lives. But we all mess up sometimes, don't we? The prisoners just happened to be caught doing the messed up things. And I am definitely sure that you love to chatter with your friends about the latest gossip, but what if instead you took that chatter to the prison and talked to somebody who doesn't usually communicate with outdoor people? I definitely think that it's worth a shot! The diction in this sentence is also worth mentioning. 'Fail' is such a strong, powerful word, that strikes you right in the gut when you hear it, wether it's on a test or a life mission, failing really stinks. Although it is a heart wrenching word, it works perfectly in this sentence because you are obviously in prison for something that you failed to accomplish, like a robbery or murder. The syntax in this passage is very evenly spaced out and helps the message flow very easily. All of these points are why I chose this structured sentence as the one that completely overrules the rest.



SUMMARY OF KRISTA RAMSEY'S WRITING: While reading each of Krista Ramsey's columns I noticed so much detail and structure that they completely overwhelmed me with the exquisite technique! Each of the articles that I have read are very unique and important in their own personal way. Take the column: For better vision, kids need time outdoors as an example. This article stresses the importance of getting children off of their cell phones to being more active outside. An example in this article is when Ramsey states; "You see it all the time. Your teenager at the dinner table, waiting for his checkup at the orthodontist's office, sauntering to his car- continually hunched over his smartphone or iPad." This introductory statement sets the stage perfectly so that readers can connect to the passage about to be read, instead of just reading it because they have to. Another article stressed the point of dress attire for certain occasions, and how people have lost respect in their clothing. It was called Super Bowl QBs score points for greater style. An example of Ramsey's voice reaching out through her diction is when she says: "And life itself regains the punctuation that says every day isn't the same as every other, that we are all part of a collective experience and that we honor each other and ourselves when we care about how we're groomed and dressed." This strength in just a few sentences reveals how careful Krista is when she says something in her column, because she wants it to sound like everyday people! My final example is in the article called: Jail program needs volunteers willing to listen. This is one of the more emotional columns because Ramsey gives up her emotions for the well-being of the piece. An example of this is when she states; "For most of my life I have averted my eyes when driving by a prison. It was a world I didn't want to think about, of harm done to innocent victims and of human beings locked away from light, freedom, their families to pay for their crimes." This statement makes me want to second guess criminals, are they really the monsters we think, or just real people with real feelings? This question causes me to ponder because as a child, I was terrified of those people in jail, and now that I read this and Krista Ramsey's perspective, I see that there are different ways to judge people. Thanks to all three articles, I have been able to get in touch on these ideas in my own brain! I hope to read more of Krista Ramsey's columns because they are truly inspiring!

QUESTIONS:

1. Do you find it easy to pay attention to detail, or do you find it hard to come up with topics for your columns because you must be specific about the true meaning?
2. Do you get your ideas from your brain, or everyday experience, or just as you go through life? 
3. If someone just gave you a random topic and you had to create a column about it, would you be able to? Or do you get your topics from a moment that connected to you? 

Nearing the Middle of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

         I am completely and utterly entranced by this novel in so many unexplainable ways! This is because it is so true and so heart breaking to hear the Holocaust story from the narrator talking about a little girl named Liesel Meminer. She is such an unfortunate child because her brother has just passed away, and now her parents are shipping her off to a foster home in the hands of her foster father named Hans Hubermann. I can see this story gradually gaining speed when Liesel picks up a fallen book from one of the gravediggers burying her dead brother, and is suddenly interested. This is probably the introduction, or beginning of her travels and troubles with book thievery during the Holocaust. I am definitely anticipating what happens next with Liesel because she is refusing to get out of the car to go into her new foster home, but I personally don't blame her, I would be pretty stubborn if all that had happened to me too!

      Although this book has definitely peaked my interest, there are a few things that I don't understand, or could use some revision. I am not very clear on the point of view of this book, because it is not from the point of view of Liesel, or any of her relatives. But if I were in Markus Zusak's shoes, I would base it on Liesel's reference. This is because it would be very interesting to find out how children related to the Holocaust and how they coped with all the harsh treatment based on race. I also wish that the author would emphasize Liesel's family a bit more because there has to be a huge reason why they are giving up their last child to a foster family. This underlying reason would also help the development of Liesel and her past. Other than these small changes, I am completely loving the structure of The Book Thief. 

      To finalize this blog post, I would love to discuss the movie based upon this book. I would love to see the visual of this mature topic and how the director sees the characters interacting. A few things that I definitely want present in the film are a corrupted society that definitely displays the ideals of the Holocaust and the importance of knowing how to change the future. Another aspect is a very shy, and reserved character to represent Liesel. And then later in the movie, a burst of her true curious self sparkles through her soul. Although I am not allowing myself to see the movie until I complete the book, I am still looking forward to how the author and director share common ideas!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816442/