Seventh Independant Reading Post:

Choice #3 --  Fact File:  List five to ten facts from your book/film and then give your personal reflection of each fact.

Book: A diary of a young girl by Anne Frank

Fact #1: Anne wrote her diary in a letter format and always wrote it to "Kitty". I feel like Anne was writing to a friend that she maybe cared very deeply for, or maybe a family member that she really hope stayed alive during the holocaust and everything that was happening. Another possibility is that I think that like many people, she needed an escape and this obviously was to write the letters in the first place, but she had to go as far as to create an imaginary friend that she had learned to accept was never going to wright back.

Fact #2: Anne did end up dying in a concentration camp, but did not die in the gassing chambers. Anne Frank was sent of to concentration camp with her mother and sister, but not her father whom she could have assumed was dead. Her mother died of starvation and the sister died from typhus. And although the reader has been so hooked by the story of this young girl, she met her fate the same way her sister did and I believe that this gives a powerful feeling to the reader that makes the reader come to the realization that because typhus nowadays is only caught by vermin's and rodents, that during the holocaust the Jews, in the Nazi's eyes, were nothing but rats and mice.

Fact #3: Following up on the beginning of the fact #2, there was only one survivor between Anne, the sister, the parents, the van pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer. By conducting some research online, I found out that Otto Frank, Anne's father was the only survivor out of the names mentioned above and while he was in concentration camp he found out that his wife and daughters were dead. This shows that anything can happen and things shouldn't be assumed in times like the holocaust.

Fact #4: Some people think that the book should be banned from being learned and studied in school because of this line on page 129 "There are little folds of skin all over the place, you can hardly find it. The little hole underneath is so terribly small that I simply can't imagine how a man can get in there, let alone how a whole baby can get out!"Although this fact is completely normal for girls to wonder, some people think that this line along with other ones are pornographic and not good for students to read.


Fact #5: After finding the diary it was actually realized that the diary that the story was written in was actually an autograph book, but after it was full she then switched to two notebooks that ended up becoming a 360 page report. I think that the fact that Anne Frank used a diary to write her story shows that although the hard times she was still trying to make the best of the situation and used whatever that she could find.

Movie: Saving Private Ryan

Fact #1: People with missing limbs in the movie were actually amputee's that were issued prosthetic legs and were taken off just for the purpose of shooting the movie. This movie was made in 1998, a year after I was born and this shows how far movie shooting has advanced through the years because if this much effort was put into making a movie thats 15 years old, then I can't imagine the technology and effort that they put into creating movies today.

Fact #2:  There was one scene in the movie that actually showed a very important moment in history. This important moment was the turning point of World War II in Europe, and this happened during the Allied Invasion at Normandy.

Fact #3: There was only one real person that was shown in the film. All the other soldiers and names of the soldiers are fictional or fake, although, the events in the movie were based on actual wars. There was one historical figure and this was General George C. Marshall, which was played by Harve Presnell. Including a real actor shows how much realism they wanted to include in the movie to give the reader a sense that they are actually experiencing what the director Steven Spielberg is trying to portray.

Fact #4: Tom Sizemore, one of the actors for this movie was almost kicked off appearing in the movie because of his off screen problems. Tom Sizemore was in a drug rehab in 1998 and was almost kicked off the cast and was threatened to have the entire film re shot with a different actor if Tom Sizemore failed one drug test.


Fact #5: Although the huge amounts of money that was put into creating the film, it did not win the oscar best picture award, and instead was Shakespear in love. Upwards of $13 million was put into the creation of this movie and despite the hard efforts in creating this film, it did not win. However the director Steven Spielberg won the best actor of the year which made up for his sadness for not winning best film.

Sixth Independant Reading Post:

Choice #12: Looking in the Mirror. Which character is most like you? Why? Remember to describe the character well because your audience may not have read the book or seen the film.

Book: Into Thin Air

Rob Hall, as explained in my previous BIRP post, is one of the most iconic characters, being characterized as someone who doesn't give up, and when he sets it in his mind to do something, he'll finish it whether it kills him or not. I find that Rob Hall is just like me because I am that type of person who has his dislikes and when it comes to accomplishing something that has to do with the dislikes, that thing will most likely be done with no passion or triumph. In the book Rob Hall feels that going back down to the summit the very next morning after 2 lives are found lost and one life is at stake is the right thing to do, and even with the com saying that he should stay at the top summit to await helicopter, he climbs down the treacherous dangerous summit to find oxygen for the dying Scott Fischer. Something that I have done in my life that relates somewhat to what Rob Hall did is taking the route of picking up golf as a sport. Playing tennis all my life I decided that I would want to try and take it into my college career, but after playing tennis for 10+ years (likewise doing anything for that long a time) it got really boring and I decided that I would want to play a sport that would be less taxing on my body, like golf. Instantly my tennis coach stepped in and said that I definitely shouldn't do golf with the risk of it messing with my tennis, stuck in a dilemma I decided to go through with it anyways and play both of the sports, much like how Rob Hall went through with the summit descent in search for oxygen. Doing both sports now I am rewarded in making both Iasas teams in golf and tennis which has extended my transcript even further, which further increases my chances in making a good college.

Movie: To Kill a Mocking Bird

To Kill a Mocking Bird is one of my favorites when it comes to spotting deeper and conceptual meaning. In my eyes, Tim Johnson the rabies infected dog is one of the most symbolic and deepest meaning related character in the book. Tim Johnson a poor dog is affected by rabies in the book and readers may wonder why this poor dog got affected and died after being so innocent through out the whole book. In this book, the rabies symbolizes the racism that goes through the town of Maycomb, and the fact that poor Tim Johnson is affected by the rabies so badly relates to how I feel about the inequalities and racial stereotypes that are still present in our world today. Much like the dog, I believe that racism is what ruins our already ruined world on top of everything bad that is happening. Atticus Finch, a marksman that is set in charge to execute this dog hesitates to kill the dog, and I think this is because if I were affected by racism much like how this dog was conceptually, the courts and judges would be hesitant to accuse me of anything because of how scared I am and how innocent I was.

Choice #10: Character Analysis: Choose a character and discuss his/hers significance and importance in the novel.

Movie: The Godfather

Vito Corleone, one of the few characters and only man known in our world today that can tolerate and deal with many different types of mindsets and mentality's in different characters within a visually broken yet still have a loving interior. Optimistic, scary, and smart in his own ways, Vito Corleone instructs and is a leader to his henchmen in the mafia scene with a strong sense of principle and classiness. The audience of Vito can imagine him as a character of class and the optimum example of what a successful man starting all the way from the bottom should be like. The characteristics of Vito are that of a believer in class, being humble, having a clear list of priorities and believing that family takes priority over everything and anything in the world. Vito is a character to look up to in this movie because Vito never shows signs of weakness and giving up to both his children and the enemies he possesses, this ties in with his optimistic trait. In the movie he can be seen as sort of inactive and un-dynamic character, although he has a strong sense of love for his children and keeps a deep dark secret for his son Michael Corleone who happens to be the main character. Through watching this movie one can obviously see that his love for his family members clearly takes priority and outweighs all of his traits. Vito is a gangster that always seems to be a part of the scene and seems to be telepathic in a way that he is always step ahead of everybody else in the movie, his compassion towards his family yet his title of a gangster is what makes Vito Corleone the special man that he is.

Book: Into Thin Air

Rob Hall, is one of the most iconic characters that I have read about so far. Rob Hall is one of many guides that help lead the clients up the prestigious Mount Everest, but in this book he happens to be Jon Kraukers designated guide. Rob Hall is characterised, in some ways, just like Vito Corleone, in the sense that what ever he believes is the right thing to do, he will stick with his own plan and will not let anyone else get in the way. Rob Halls true character comes out in chapter 17, despite the suicide wishes of a fellow client, Scott Fischer, he fights through descent after ascent, to try and rescue the dying and mentally sick Scott Fischer by getting tanks of new oxygen in a camp completely south of where they were. After a long haul back up the mountain Rob Hall brings back tanks of oxygen but to his horror finds that the seals were frozen shut, and after spending a night on the top of the mountain, he manages to get the oxygen tanks to work and promises other guides and rescuers that he is going to descend, but refuses to and instead stays with his other clients in an attempt to save their lives. Despite leaving Gau, a Taiwanese guide, and Fischer who were both deprived of energy and seemed like there was no possible way that they could continue on, Rob Hall remains the icon of the book because he decided to stay and fight for the lives of other people, despite the risks of losing his own life.

Fourth Independant Reading Project Post

Choice #5: Quote or Point Out. Quote a part of the book/film that you think is an example of good writing. What did you like about the quote? What makes you feel this is good writing? Why do you want to save it?

 

As said in the previous post I explained the setting and my reactions so far about the book. And from reading this book I find that the most important quote that has come up in the book is 

“Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when it's morning again, they'll wash away
Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you.” 

I find that this is an example of good writing because the author tries to switch the tone from a destructive, stressed, gory scene to that of a scene that would be corny and a quote that could be taken from a sort of chick flick movie or book. Hunger games revolves around survival in a dystopia world, with its factors controlled by game makers that try to guide the competitors towards one another to engage in a blood bath and to decide a winner through the survival of the fittest. This quote is important because it brings out the things that would come from a Utopia world (where everything is perfect), including love, freedom, and safety, where all three of those are juxtaposed with the factors of the dystopia world, like hatred, trapped, and fear, through this quote, it gives the protagonist a sense of hope and a sense of looking forward and reaching out for what no longer exists in that world.

Carl Denham: It wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.

This quote is important in the movie because it re states the climax of the movie, and reveals the true deeper meaning of the book. King Kong isn't just a beast that has only one thought in his mind and that is to rampage through everything he see's and aims to cause a ruckus and wreak havoc, but the main thing that was on his mind was to keep Ann Darrow alive and in the mean time try to how his love and affection for this lady. Ann Darrow tries to keep King Kong alive by climbing up to the top of the eiffel tower to join King Kong and stand in the way and act as a shield to the bullets fired towards King Kong by the airplanes that are trying to take him down. In the end she gets to the top but it is too late as King Kong is too badly hurt and ends up falling to his death, this quote states that it wasn't the airplanes that killed him, but it was the beauty and the love for Ann Darrow that got him to be over protective of her and caused him to sacrifice himself for the livelihood of Ann Darrow and to keep her alive. 

 Third Post: Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Choice #1 - Reactions. So far, do you love/hate/can't stop reading the book, watching this film? What makes you feel that way? What reactions do you have to your own writing, the writing of your peers, the world around you? What made you choose the book/film? Who recommended it?

Book: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

So far I am about half way through the book, and Katniss Everdeen has already been obviously chosen for the hunger games and she is competing for her life and is targeted by a gang formed by Cato and a couple alliances. The game makers recognize Katniss's strategy and decide to act upon it by setting fire to a certain area that Katniss is traveling towards. This gets Katniss traveling back in towards the other groups and this is where the real story begins. I find this book interesting because for the first time I strayed away from the usual genre that I usually like to pick which is non-fiction, and for once I actually very much enjoyed it. When I write something, most of the time is I lay out everything that I have in my mind onto a piece of paper or document depending on whether I am writing on a piece of paper or typing it up on a computer. This means that when I have a lot of pre knowledge about a topic that I am about to write about, all that pre knowledge and maybe a little more research will be portrayed on the piece that I write about, but if I have to write about a topic that I know very little about that too will show in my writing. Most of the time I feel very proud of my work though, because I know that I have tried my hardest and and have given it my all. Reading the writing of my peers is what has developed me into the writer that I am today. I am not an efficient reader at all, and tend to be very picky about my book selection, this can be proven even in my SAT scores, where I am strong in my writing section, but weak in the reading. Through reading and revising my other peer's work or essays, I have learned the things that work and don't work, which has shaped the writer that I am today. I chose to read this book because one, it fits the genre that we were assigned to read, and two, in early high school the movie was the talk of the year, so I felt left out having not watched the movie and instead of taking the easiest route of understanding the story, I decided to read the first book of the Hunger Games Trilogy.

Movie: To Kill a Mockingbird 

The reason for watching this movie was a big surprise when I actually thought about why I wanted to watch this movie. I wanted to watch this movie solely based off the reason that I enjoyed the book more than anything I have ever read in my life. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee was always the dreaded book to read in 10th grade because of all the deep meaning and the boring amount of time that it took to finish the book, but for some reason I loved the book. I finished the movie in one sitting, and even though the movie is in black and white because of how old it is, I still enjoyed the movie and wouldn't mind watching it all over again. But one thing that I didn't quite remember after reading this book all the way back in 10th grade, was the mystery of Boo Radley and how he finally revealed himself in the book that changed Scout and Jem's perspective of Boo Radley. This finally becomes clear to me of how Boo Radley saves the day by tackling and killing Bob Ewell from attacking Jem. At first, Mr Bilenky my english teacher for last year recommended us to watch it, but that suggestion literally went in one ear and out the other because I didn't take it into consideration at all, but finally I remembered it and watched the movie, which I have no regrets doing.

Second Post: Monday, October 7, 2013

Choice #11: Conflict: Identify the conflict in the novel/film and explore this.

Spoiler Alert:

Book: Elijah of Buxton

Elijah is in trouble when Mr. Leroy takes Elijah and is faced with more of a coming of age conflict, this is because he has to grow up fast, despite all of the doings in the past. Mr Leroy takes him to Detroit to try and catch up with the preacher, who has stolen thousands of dollars that was saved to buy Mr Leroy's family's freedom. Both Elijah and Mr. Leroy go on a pursuit together, chasing after The Preacher who has an incentive in stealing money that once belonged to Mr Leroy himself. Comparing this part of the book, in which The Preacher has slowly became the bad guy, to the beginning of the book, where The Preacher is helping Elijah, the conflict is to never trust somebody that may seem suspicious, because in the beginning of the book, The Preacher gives away that he is a lier because he joked about Elijah about the hooper snakes, and created a fuss when there actually was no such thing. Although the Preacher shoots the man who was accompanying them, who was from Buxton, Elijah and Mr. Leroy still persist in tracking the Preacher down. Tragically, Mr. Leroy suffers a death from a heart attack, and Elijah is left to continue onwards with his pursuit on finding the Preacher. Another important conflict comes here, and this is when Elijah is faced with the choice to continue onwards or to give up the pursuit,  there is no point in continuing because the man he was helping was no longer alive, but Elijah comes to the conclusion that he is going to "continue Mr Leroy's legacy" in a way. Elijah does manage to find The Preacher after a while, but at the same time finds a family of escaped slaves, one of them named Mrs. Chloe. Elijah leaves without helping Mrs. Chloe, Mrs Chloe's husband Kamau, Kamau and Mrs Chloe's daughter Hope, and two other slaves in an attempt to look for assistance to finish tracking down The Preacher. Just before Elijah decides to start his journey back to Buxton alone, he feels the need to try and help Mrs. Chloe so he goes back to her and the other slaves in the barn. During the moment, Elijah tries to assess the problem like an adult would, and this is when the coming of age conflict comes to place, Elijah ends up lying to help rescue the baby, and he returns back to Buxton with the baby.

Movie: Toy Story (1995)

The movie Toy Story revolves around two main dolls, Woody and Buzz Light Year. Woody, a cowboy string doll has earned his spot as being the favorite toy of a six-year old Andy. The movie starts unfolding when Buzz Light Year, a space ranger action figure, takes Woody's spot for being the favored doll, this shakes Woody's confidence. In the movie Toy Story, there are many different conflicts that happen during the movie, but I have chosen two conflicts to discuss. The first conflict is an internal conflict, when Woody is sad and puzzled because he has been replaced by Andy as being the favorite toy with Buzz Light year. This internal conflict develops into the main conflict of the story, where Woody is accused of killing Buzz light year when Woody and Buzz get into a fight and Buzz falls out of a window. Woody is then faced to go outside and help to find Buzz so that they can both return to Andy's room, but they get into all sorts of other conflicts in the outside, the main one being when they get stuck in Sid's house, who is a toy torturer and the adventure of trying to escape from that house begins. Sid's house is the beginning of an external conflict, and is a battle between good vs. evil, together, Woody and Buzz must push through the obstacles that are preventing them from getting to Andy's house safely, including defeating Sid and saving the other toys.

First Post: Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Choice #9: Dramatic Moment: Choose a significant moment in the novel/film and explore its importance.

Movie: Forrest Gump

In my opinion the most significant moment in Forrest Gump is when Forrest gets drafted to the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War creates the foundation of the whole movie, the next major events starts from this one event. He meets Bubba in which he shared his passion for catching shrimp and his desire to open a shrimp business and have his own boat to go shrimp fishing, being Forrest he agrees to everything and crosses his heart to join Bubba in pursuing his dream after the Vietnam War is all over. Although this hope that the war will soon be over, whilst the squad was trecking through Vietnam marsh they encounter an ambush where many of the squad members were shot. Forrest being the only survivor, rushes back into the jungle in search of many of the fallen soldiers, he rescues many and finds his best friend Bubba, last. Although Forrest brings him to safety, Bubba suffers a gunshot to the stomach and dies in Forrest's arms. Later on in the movie after the Vietnam war is over Forrest buys a boat and names it after his love, Jenny. Together with his Co-Sailor Lieutenant Dan they both venture into the wild seas in search of hardcore shrimp fishing, so despite Bubba's death, Forrest carries out his promise. The images brought back from fighting in war can be traumatizing, and Forrest coped with this by playing ping pong, he "even played ping-pong when he had no-one to play ping-pong with"- Forrest Gump. Ping-pong became more of a passion, then being a distraction and he learnt to play the game so well that he was world renowned for his talent. Forrest is then discharged from the military, taking money from a ping-pong endorsement and uses that to open the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Forrest's long lost true love, Jenny, after having seperated with Forrest, has her life on the edge of destruction becoming addicted to heroin and considering suicide but decides against in at the last second. Jenny then becomes a part of a hippie "Anti-vietnam War" crew. After Forrest returns from the war, along with his other fellow soldiers, they attend a public speaking in which Jenny is speaking about her beliefs. Forrest spots Jenny and a dramatic meet of the couple occurs and the crowd goes wild, this is the start of the reunited couple once again.

Book: Elijah Of Buxton, By Christopher Paul Curtis

An important moment from this book is when Elijah is reffered to as Fra-gile by his mom. This all comes from when The Right Reverend Zephariah W. Connelly, the Preacher (AKA The Preacher) comes into the book with a rather foolish entrance. Whilst Elijah and Cooter were checking out mysterious tracks that traced into Cooters backyard, The Preacher helps investigate and comes up with a horrifying story to Elijah as to what these tracks could be coming from. The Preacher explains that these tracks are typically left by Hoop Snakes, who's bite can be so venomous that it can kill full grown human being with just one bite that leaves them swelling up until they explode. Elijah comes running down the road screaming and horrified as to what he just heard. He meets him mom right in front of his house gate and after explaining why he was screaming at the top of his lungs, his mom scolds him for being Fra-gile and that no other kids his age would react the same way Elijah did to an obviously fake story. His mother tells him that he needs to learn how to grow up, because "Life's gunn be a tough row to hoe for you if you don't learn you caint be believing verything folks tell you, not even growned folks" (Page 28). From this point on the reader (me) follows him on his journey to complete tasks that require a mature mindset, he changes the way he thinks in order to cope with these problems that he faces.