Post your annotated bibliography extended paragraph for April here. Carefully proofread your paragraph for content and grammar before you publish, and don't forget to print out a copy of your posting for your Literature File. Use the following format to compose your paragraph:
Format for composing an Annotated Bibliography Paragraph:
1) Compose a topic sentence that states the author and title of the novel and explains whether you liked or disliked the novel.
2) Compose 6-8 sentences that:
a) detail the main plot events (remember the paragraph should not be entirely plot summary).
b) detail how the author uses one literary device to develop the plot (characterization, theme, conflict, setting, point of view, etc.)
c) include transitions between your detail of the main plot events and your detail of the literary device.
3) Finish you paragraph with a summation sentence that restates the topic sentence by explaining why you liked or disliked the novel.
DO NOT USE "I"PHRASES ANY WHERE IN YOUR PARAGRAPH AND REMEMBER TO ITALICIZE BOOK TITLES AND THE TITLES OF PLAYS.
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58 comments:
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens becomes more awe-inspiring as I read on. Marquis Evrémonde, a wealthy aristocrat surrounded in ostentatious luxuries, leaves Paris in a stampeding carriage that accidentally crushes a young boy. The unaffected carriage, headed for Marquis’ chateau, simply continues on. Dickens has done another great job of imagery in A Tale of Two Cities by describing the chateau of the Evrémonde family which emphasized the family’s wealth as supposed to the poverty stricken peasants. Upon arrival, Marquis asks for Charles Darnay, who apparently is his nephew who wanted no part in the family name or inheritance. The next day, Marquis is found dead, with a knife to his heart and a note that read “Drive him fast to his tomb. This, from JACQUES.” (Dickens 99) A year later, Darnay works as a teacher and tells Dr. Manette about his love for Lucie. There is a love triangle between Stryver, Darnay, and Lucie, however Stryver is convinced by Lorry not to propose to Lucie. A Tale of Two Cities is an immensely interesting book because it becomes more captivating as I read deeper.
Oscar Lee
B Block
Colors of the Mountain by Da Chen was an inspiring memoir of a boy’s triumph over adversity. Da Chen was a young mischievous boy growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. His family belonged to a communist country, where freedom of speech was not allowed. Despised by a landlord who strongly abided to the country’s rules, Chen’s father and grandfather were beaten daily, and sent to labor camps. Though Chen was an excellent student, he was always discouraged by his teacher that he would never become more than a poor farmer, due to his family background. Despite, his background of poverty and danger, his hopeless fate brought him upon gang violence and family debt. It wasn’t long until Chen began embracing his education, believing that it was possible to succeed. He not only studied day and night, but worked in the cotton fields all day to help his family from struggling. His strong support from his family members and his hard work gave him the highest score on the final exam, earning him a spot at Beijing University. Throughout the novel, Da Chen uses theme to vividly explain the possibility to achieve success when suffering from hardships and poverty. The theme of the novel is to find strength through adversity. Growing up in a society where freedom wasn’t allowed brought Chen into many discouraging situations, but it was his will and courage that allowed him to take control over his life. As Da Chen grew up to be intelligent, and resilient, he wrote this novel to speak to people that anything is possible if they strive, and work hard for what they want. This novel is highly recommended to those who are not only determined to succeed, but struggle with the difficulties in life.
Jisup Kim
B Block
Black Boy by Richard Wright is an intriguing novel about a boy, Richard who is four years old and of course is a very curious little boy and does stupid things when he’s bored. Unluckily, he had burnt his house down because of a candle that was lit onto the curtains. In conclusion to that, he now has moved to Memphis Tennessee. That is where the setting will take place. During the day Richard’s father sleeps because he works nights as a night porter in a drugstore. Richard and his younger brother were playing with a stray kitten, which unfortunately the kitten was very noisy. Nathan of course got extremely angry, and yelled out to Richard “Kill that damn thing!” Richard had hung the poor kitten. Which, according to the author Richard knew that his father didn’t really mean it but he did it anyway. Doing this Richard is left with a huge conflict; he has to now bury the kitten by himself. Son after all this has happened; Richard’s father leaves him and his mother for another woman. Now sadly Ella, his mother and his little brother are left to fend for them selves, Nathan had left them with no money. Now what are that going to do?
Jazmin Roman
B-Block
5/7/08
The novel,The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, is a shocking, eye opening, yet intriguing novel is set in the early 1900s in Durham, Chicago. The protagonist is Jurgis Rudkus, a young Lithuanian who comes to America, with his soon-to-be wife, his father, her stepmother, her stepmother’s husband and their six children. They go to America believing that the country is filled with new hope, plenty of opportunity and all their dreams will come true. However, when they arrive, they soon find out that life in America is not what they expected. Life is full of misery and woe for Jurgis and his family and it stays that way all the way to the end of the book. The main recurring theme in this novel is conflict. Nothing ever goes right for Jurgis and his family. Whenever something happy did occur, such as someone getting a good job or earning a little extra money that week, their happiness was quickly erased by sorrow, when Ona dies during child birth and the next month when things are looking up, their first born baby drowns in a puddle of mud that is at their doorstep. Also Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle was written to expose the horrors of the meatpacking industry of that time. Sinclair uses extreme detail to describe what goes into the meats and the working conditions of these factories. “The meat would be shoveled into carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one. There were things that went into the sausage in comparison with which a poisoned rat as a tidbit. They was no place for the men to wash their hands before they ate their dinner, and so they made a practice of washing them in the water that was to be ladled into the sausage. There were the butt-ends of smoked meats and the scraps of corned beef, and all the odds and ends of the waste of the plants, that could be dumped into old barrels in the cellar and left there. Under the system of rigid economy which the packers enforced, there were some jobs that it only paid to do once in a long time, and amoung these was the cleaning out of waste barrels. Every Spring, they did it; and in the barrels would be dirt and rust andd old nails and stale water and cartload after cartload of it would be taken up and dumped into the hoppers with fresh meat and sent out to the public’s breakfast.”(Sinclair 163). Sinclair meant to bring attention to the working poor’s troubles but emphasized the physically revolting filth and gore of the stockyards. This caused public outrage over the poor quality of the meat that was being served to the public and even caused a national investigation. Sinclair himself said,” I aimed at the public’s heart, and by accident hitt them in the stomach.” Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle was a very gripping novel that made the reader want to continue reading .
The novelThe Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a powerful book in where you enter the world of Jurgis Rudkus, a young Lithuanian immigrant who arrives in America fired with dreams of wealth, freedom, and opportunity. Jurgis and his wife had recently immigrated to an area in Chicago known as Packingtown, in search of a better life. Little did they know that Packingtown, the center of Lithuanian immigration and of Chicago’s meatpacking industry, is a hard, dangerous, and filthy place where it is very difficult to find a job. Jobs in Packingtown involve back-breaking labor, however, conducted in unsafe conditions with little regard for individual workers. Through the philanthropy of a wealthy woman who takes an interest in the family, Jurgis finally finds a good job at a steel mill. Jurgis eventually loses this job and is forced to work in an unheated slaughterhouse in which it is difficult to see, and risks his life everyday by simply going to work. One of the literary devices discussed in the novel is theme. The main theme of The Jungle is the evil of capitalism. Every event in the book is chosen deliberately to portray a particular failure of capitalism, which is, in Sinclair’s view, inhuman, destructive, unjust, brutal, and violent. The slow annihilation of Jurgis’s immigrant family at the hands of a cruel and prejudiced economic and social system demonstrates the effect of capitalism on the working class as a whole. As the immigrants, who initially posses an idealistic faith in the American Dream of hard work leading to material success, are slowly used up, tortured, and destroyed, the novel relentlessly illustrates that capitalism is to blame for their plight and emphasizes that the characters’ individual stories are the stories of millions of people. The Jungle is not a thematically nuanced or complicated novel: capitalism is simply portrayed as a total evil, from its greedy destruction of children to its cynical willingness to sell diseased meat to an unsuspecting public. In Sinclair’s view, socialism is the cure for all of the problems that capitalism creates. Sinclair is a gripping storyteller and I definitely enjoy reading his novel.
The book Palestine by Joe Sacco is a very interesting comic book. It's basically a hand drawn version of what the author experienced in Palestine. The book shows both sides of the war happening right now. I like how Joe Sacco puts himself into the book and quotes what other people said to him. The book uses imagery to describe scenes in the book. The pictures are drawn the exact way the author saw it. All these pictures keeps the reader wanting to turn to the next page. This book gets a perfect ten out of ten and I highly recommend it to everyone who likes comics.
Shawn Cybulska
Block- B
Maus II A Survivor’s tale: And here my troubles began written by Art Spiegelman is the sequel of the breath stopping Maus I. Reading further in the book, the story encourages the reader to read more about Artie and his father’s issues. It's made clear to us from the opening pages that the main issue here has something to do with the relationship of Artie and his father, that, in a sense, the experiences of Artie's family in the Holocaust are less central than a more elusive question. The book alternates the stories told by Spiegelman’s father, Vladek Speigelman about life in Poland before and during the Second World War with the contemporary life of Art, Vladek and their loved ones in the Rego Park neighborhood of New York City. The book shows a satirical feel about it since the characters are all presented as various types of anthropomorphic animals, according to nationality and race. Throughout the book, Art Spiegelman confronts his problems and often conflicted relationship with his father. He is also presented as stingy and a person who makes life very difficult for those around him, including his first wife Anja (Art's mother, who committed suicide) and his second wife Mala, both concentration camp survivors. The Holocaust is the main theme in this captivating novel. Even though Speigelman has a lot of problems expressing the inexpressible, he tries really hard to get through his life. As I read further in the book, Art Speigelman expresses many literary devices used by the characters. One of those many literary devices is imagery, which is used to help the reader picture what is going on in the novel. Reading further, encourages the reader to await the many twists Spiegelman will display to make the book even more suspenseful.
Tirath Singh
B-Block
Briana Kohm
D-Block
5/8/08
The novel The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier is an outstanding novel that shows how easily teens are influenced into different things. The novel has to do with a group of teen boys called the Vigils go around telling people that they must fulfill a mischievous assignment to hurt or embarrass another person. Since every one fears them the students follow the gang of boys rules. Well Jerry Renault is different as the main character he finds that he will find many conflicts with standing up for himself. When the gang of boys tells him to sabotage the chocolate sale Jerry refuses the assignment. Suddenly, all hell brakes loose due to the fact Jerry is rebelling against the gang he know suffers the consequences. The author is trying to prove that people can be taken advantage of so many times yet there will always be that one person to stand up and say no. The novel The Chocolate War was phenomenal with many outstanding eye opening spectacles thorough out this book.
The book I have just finished reading is called The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. This book is about the Boleyns rise to power using their two daughters Mary and Ann to charm the king. Both sisters fight for the kings attention and Ann is the one who comes out stronger and marries King Henry, who Mary was once a mistress of. While Ann struggles to keep the Kings attention, Mary finds true love. A literary element in The Other Boleyn Girl is self conflict that Mary experiences. After Ann marries the King, Mary is alone and has no husband. Mary latter finds love in William Stafford who is much below her family state. Mary has to chose if she wants to be miserable and seen as respectful to her family, or if she wants to be happily married to the man she loves but have her family disown her. Mary does not want to give up all that she has, she finds it hard to disobey her family and do as she pleases. In the end Mary choose to marry William Stafford because she realized how much she hate life in the court, and that she wanted to live and raise her children. This book was very powerful and descriptive, it had very strong emotions and it felt as if you were back in time with the Boleyn family, I would recoment this book to anyone who likes to read.
-Katie McSherry
-Block: D
-5-6-08
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is an interesting novel that deals with an internal conflict. In the novel the main character Holden Caulfeild is disappointed with how society is, he thinks that almost everyone is fake or as he calls them phonies. Holden criticizes just about everything. This is Caulfeild’s biggest downfall; he never gives anything or anyone a chance. The only person who Caulfeild feels he can relate to is his smart younger sister, Phoebe; although he fears as she grows older she will soon be like the rest of the world-fake and materialistic-but hopes to prevent that from happening. Throughout the story Holden picks out few people who believe they have kept their innocence and have not yet to become a fake to the world. Some people he believes that are not phonies are the two nuns he meets at the train station, his old girlfriend Jane Gallagher, sunny, and his dead brother Allie. Even though he believes some people are not fakes he still feels that the whole world is. In the end these thoughts that he had on most people turned on him causing him to have a mental breakdown. He explains how he realized that people are not as bad as he thinks; but he still spent most of his life believing a majority of it was.
Cory Moser
H-Block
The novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dikens is a spectacular story about humans and their social and political battles. This story took place in England and France in the eighteenth century. The novel goes into great detail about the effects of the French and American Revolution. Lucie Manette marries Charles Darnay who was a criminal and a traitor to England. Darnay traveled to Paris and is arrested. Later he was released by the efforts of Lucie’s father.Carton was guillotined and Darnay went back to England. Darnay had been charged with treason and is now on trial for passing English secrets to France. Charles was acquitted because he resembled Sydney Carton with a reasonable argument that since Charles and Sydney looked alike the traitor could have been anyone that looked like Charles. Sydney was another admirer of Lucie calling her a ‘golden haired doll’. Sydney follows her to Paris and eventually Carton discovers that Lucie will soon be a victim of murder. Carton managed to send her away. Lucie is accidentally shot dead by her own maid. A Tale of Two Cities was a spectacular novel that was greatly enjoyed and would come recommended to those that would like to learn about the impact of the French American Revolution.
Rosa Carcci
D-Block
5/10/08
The novel, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, was a phenomenal story. It is set during the Civil War in which a Union Regiment rests along a riverbank where it has been camped for weeks. A tall soldier named Jim Conklin spreads a rumor that the army will soon march. Henry Fleming, a recent recruit with this 304th Regiment, worries about his courage. He fears that if he were to see battle, he might cower and run. The narrator reveals that Henry joined the army because he was drawn to the glory of military conflict. Since the time he joined, however, the army has merely been waiting for a military battle. The book is filled with conflict and great detail. It is a great read that anyone could enjoy.
Louis Ferrara
H-block 5/10/08
Alyson Noel. Faking 19. St. Martins Press. New York, New York. 2005. Faking 19 by Alyson Noel is an intriguing novel, suitable for many young adults. This humorous and irreverent story is based on the lives of two teenagers living in a broken world; initially residing in Orange County, California. Despite the differences in their financial backgrounds, Alex and M. are still two regular teen girls trying to figure things out. Alex is beautiful and smart, and M. is the most popular girl in school, possessing the qualities of a Barbie doll. As many teenagers do, they are bored with their life in Orange County and decide to live the glitzy and glamorous life in L.A. In Faking 19, by Alyson Noel, conflict arises when Alex is told she would not be qualified anymore for a scholarship, or even admission into college. Her poor grades and laziness hold her back from showing her star potential, and nobody in her family is helping. Struggling with her failing senior grades, Alex is distracted by her absentee father and clueless mother, and is forced to hide secrets among her weekend trips to the city. Alex shames herself of being a virgin, and with this philosophy in mind she and M. are able to lie about their ages and begin hanging out with two older rich guys, Connor and Trevor. Connor and Trevor are twenty three, but Alex and M. are only seventeen; although the two lads think they are nineteen. But afterwards, when she confesses her lie to Connor, there is an immediate falling out, and troubles. While Alex agonizes over the consequences of this situation, she begins to notice that M. is acting more eccentric than usual. Finally, Alex discovers that M. is a regular user of heavy drugs in this high-party lifestyle they love. Alex's life is at stake, and she doesn't even realize it. Faking 19 was an enduring book, that can grasp anybody's attention immediately. This novel portrayed a sense of significance, and showed prevailing teenager secrets among every chapter in the book. This real life story should be recommended for anyone who wishes to read about the daily lives of teenage girls.
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is an interesting novel that has captured my attention. The novel is about a young, 19-year-old boy named Henry Fleming as a recruit in the American Civil War. Henry was a farm boy who came from New York State who wanted to be a soldier. The theme of the story is about courage. During the battle, Henry had his first time real experience with war. He was scared to face his fears and death. Taking his moms advice he decided to go back, he realized he shouldn’t be a coward and should face to his fears. The story is about remarkable experiences that Henry had experienced during the war. The author used a third person’s point of view to describe how Henry experienced his wars. Moreover, he used imagery details to create an image for the readers to feel who exiting and amazing during the war which the main character Henry had experienced. The novel The Red Badge of Courage is an exciting and realistic depiction of the experiences of soldiers. There is intense suspense action and conflict that would be appropriate for and reader.
Reuben Gunasingh
H-Block
5/10/08
The A-List by Zoey Dean is a drama filled story about Anna Percy a nineteen year old living in New York's upper east side. Anna Percy is tired of living the private school life, and the New York City life she calls boring. After her internship fails she Anna decides she is going to move to Los Angeles to live with her father, and hopefully get a new internship in the entertainment industry. Anna meets a cute boy on the plane to Los Angeles, named Ben Birnbaum, who promises to keep in touch throughout her new life in Los Angeles. Besides the drama filling plot, author Zoey Dean uses literary devices such as point of view. The novel is written in third person point of view, meaning it is narrated. The use of the point of view makes the reader feel like they are listening to a story told by one person. The novel The A-List by Zoey Dean is dramatic novel because of all the promises broken, and the hardships that the characters face.
Laurel Haim
H-Block
The Black Boy by Richard Wright speaks of a boy named Richard Wright living in the south during the racism era. Richard was a trouble maker, but on the other hand was very smart. Richard finds himself in many different predicaments, starting from racism, and leading to family matters. Richard moved from family member to family member all resulting in problems with Richard, and his aunt, uncle, or grandmother. If it wasn’t a family issue Richard was burning down houses, peeping at neighbors, or back sassing. All of these issues eventually led Richard to a backhand, or belt therefore, making Richard more troublesome. After Richard graduates the ninth grade as Valedictorian, he wants a job, and soon gets one. While working his new job, Richard comes in contact with conflict. Two white men named Pease and Reynolds continue to act racist towards Richards saying Optical work is too skilled for blacks. The author Richard Wright shows many types of conflict in The Black Boy with details such as poverty, racism, and segregation. The Black Boy is an intriguing novel which leaves the reader at the edge of their seat. It is a great book, and all readers would enjoy it.
Anthony Nival
H Block
5-10-08
Estrella’s Quinceañera is a very intriguing story about the lives of some teenagers living in the world today. The main character, Estrella Alvarez, is a young Mexican-American girl living in East San Jose, California. Estrella is impending to a major milestone in her life. This milestone is that she is about to turn fifteen. Her culturally oriented family is very traditional and her pushy mother, as well as crazy Tia Lucky, is stubborn about letting Estrella having an enormous quinceañera. This is a Latino birthday celebration that makes a fifteen year old girl a sign of growing into a woman. Estrella’s family is expresses their love for her by throwing her an extraordinary party. As Estrella grows older, she has urges to fit in with her friends at school. She is a scholarship student at an elegant private school. While in school and meeting new people, Estrella tries her hardest to stay away from her traditional Mexican ancestors and family. She badly has urges to fit in with the rich and the so called “White Los Gatos” crowd. She wants to have a wonderful and unforgettable party so the thought of having a big, but tacky quinceañera makes her embarrassed; however, after so many arguments and mistakes and with the assistance of a cute boy from around the corner, Estrella comes to learn how to grip her heritage, as well as her family, and fixes everything before her quinceañera arrives. In Estrella’s Quinceañera , the author uses theme the most. The theme is about how Estrella is trying to find her true self. Also, Estrella is trying to fit in with everyone else. At times she becomes rude to her family, and runs to her sister’s house for safety. At her sister’s house, she can vent her problems.
Dana Pistilli
H-Block
Crane, Stephen. The Red badge of courage. New York: Dover USA, 1990. The Red badge of courage is a sentimental story that reveals more about human nature. In the story the character Henry Fleming during the American civil war in the 1860’s, joins the confederate army of the south. Fleming after being trained is sent for combat. Fleming leaves the battle and is later returned to his fellow soldiers after being struck by a rifle. The characterization in The Red badge of courage is unique because it shows the various ways the characters think, make decisions, experience internal conflicts, and how their life events impact their thought process. These properties of the characters are most shown in the main characters journey in the civil war. After wanting to gain military honor Fleming decides to join the army and fight a fierce and brave war. However, he in confronted by fear and thinks of escaping once he starts to fight. Eventually, Fleming runs away, accompanying other soldiers also attempting to leave the war. Since the soldiers walking along Fleming are seriously wounded and some are mentally damaged, Fleming is inspired by their wounds which prove courage; hence, Fleming is compelled by desire to obtain his own “red badge of courage” like the other soldiers. When he is brought back to fight, Fleming is more aggressive and is determined to illustrate to himself that his actions are brave. On the other hand, Jim Conklin and Wilson as fellow soldiers of Fleming, are not afraid of war and remain with their regiment. Also another major character who Fleming encounters as he is leaving his battle changes Fleming’s perspective of life. This soldier in the story in shot twice and tatters while speaking; Fleming abandons him which creates guilt in his mind and keeps haunting him the rest of the war. At the end of the war, Fleming is faced with the challenge of figuring his actions through the war, how he advances into manhood, and how he will approach his future. Crane’s characterization attempts to portray the positive and negative, brave and fearful, innocent and guilty sides of humans, depicting that a person possesses a complex mind that can waver. The Red badge of courage by Stephen Crane is an exceptional book for readers who are searching for in depth reading experience.
Simit Christian
D block
5/10/08
Fahrenheit 451 so far is a highly interesting book written by Ray Bradbury. This book takes a plunge into a futuristic society where books are banned by the government, and firemen start fires instead of putting them out. This futuristic technology-obsessed society lives a very dull and meaningless life lacking fundamental elements such as individuality due to overwhelming government control. The book focuses on a fireman named Guy Montag who is the main character of the plot. Guy Montag enjoys being a fireman and burning books until his young neighbor Clarisse McClellan makes him realize he is an unhappy man who lives an empty life. The young neighbor Clarisse tells him of the past and a time when fireman did not start fires or burn books. This causes Guy Montag to question his actions, beliefs, and the detached society around him. She even causes him to question why he is married to his lifeless wife who is uninterested in him and only spends her entire time watching television, listening to the radio, and taking many pills. Guy Montag becomes very curious and decides he is going to read his secret stash of books. As I continue to read Fahrenheit 451 the twisting plot becomes increasingly interesting to read.
Rebecca Utkin
B Block
05/10/08
First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung is an astonishing autobiography based on one girl's struggle in Cambodia during the late 1970’s. In this story, Ung, from her firsthand experience, exposes her family’s challenges of survival in the Cambodian War. Being separate from the life she used to enjoy and love so much, Ung uses conflict to describe the intensifying magnitude of how separation from one’s family can destroy one’s inner being. This story demonstrates how life can alternate in any moments notice, and can leave one in a position they never dreamed could occur. Ung’s struggle for surviving in a desolate, depressing, and uncivilized area shows how her personal emotions from the war can leave one feeling lonely and worthless. First They Killed My Father is an excellent read because it permits the reader to understand that precious things in life should not be taken for granted, and the ones you love can disappear when you least expect them to. This book is recommended to anyone interested in learning about how one’s girl’s dream life drastically turned into a nightmare literally overnight.
Racquel Wood
D-BLOCK
1984 by George Orwell is a novel written about a man named Winston Smith, a middle aged man based on Orwell himself. Winston lives in a place called Oceania. Oceania is a country split into three different sections Eastasia, Eurasia, and Oceania. Oceania is country which is ruled by totalitarianism. Totalitarianism is when a country is ruled by one person only. The ruler is a made up character called Big Brother. Big Brother is what Winston Is trying to destroy. Winston is trying to make the government a fair one. Winston is trying to change history by rewriting a old newspaper. Winston is trying to make the government party better. This is what goes on in 1984. The novel is very intriguing. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in history and governments.
Jon Weiss
D Block
5/12/08
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a novel that starts off with the main character Holden Caulfeild who is in his new school, after failing out of 3 other schools, and is being expelled from his new one after failing 4 out of 5 classes. He is very disappointed with the enviornment that he is in and the way that people act and there actions to everything around them and the way people treat eachother. At the end of the novel he realizes that society isnt that bad and exepts that not everything goes that way that it should and that he wants.
The play Antigone by Sophocles becomes much more interesting as I read more about the conflict. In this play, the main character Antigone is a tough and strong woman. She wants to bury her brother Polyneices even though she knew she it’s against the law. Although she knew that it’s illegal and she might die by stoning in front of the city wall, she still thinks that she is doing the right thing. She thinks that morality is more important than order. Antigone has a really strong mind that she has to bury her brother because she is loyal to her family. She believed that she is responding to a higher law which is God’s law. In this play, the chorus uses many literary devices such as personification and metaphor to describe the incident. It tells us that men have overpowered and women should obey men. Therefore, Antigone should not do anything to go against Creon. Meanwhile, Antigone’s coward sister Ismene wanted to admit the crime too because she doesn’t want to be alone if Antigone died. This is a very remarkable and exciting play that reflects different people’s personality and the way they react on the same issue.
Wing Sum Cheung
H block
5/12/08
The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Che Guevara is an inspiring story. Ernesto and his friend Alberto traveled across South America on a very unreliable motorcycle. Along their journey, they worked at a leper colony, slept in multiple barns, experienced injustice, and endured poverty. Therefore, Che Guevara uses imagery throughout the story. Che Guevara vividly describes the journey and his feelings. As you read the book, you feel as if you are a character in the story. The Motorcycle Diaries is an exceptional story of two wealthy men experiencing social and political injustice for the first time.
"Animal Farm" By George Orwell is a very interesting book. The farm animals don’t like there lives. So they want to take over. So they finally start over. They think they will have a better life now that they are in control. The animals want a world where people and animals are equal. They want to have there own property, and own it, just like humans do. Soon after the animals take control every thing goes wrong. Now the pigs took control. The pig leaders name is Napoleon. Now he is the new leader of all the animals on the farm. One by one the rights for are the animals are not a lot. It gets down to the point where they have less freedom then they had when the humans ruled them.
Samantha Grasso
B Block
[i]Maus[/i] by Art Speigelman tells a story of a holocaust survivor. This story is displayed as simply a cat and mouse scenario. The cats (Nazi)and the mouse (Jews). This scenario shows WW2 and its origins. The man character Artie is a survivor of the notorious holocaust. He tells his grandson his story and his lifestyle back then. The characters of his novel show what it was really like to live during the holocaust. The reaction from the characters is horrible and fearsome. It is sad to see there reactions to the situation because, I knew what was ahead for them and they sort of did to.
[i]Maus[/i] by Art Speigelman tells a story of a holocaust survivor. This story is displayed as simply a cat and mouse scenario. The cats (Nazi)and the mouse (Jews). This scenario shows WW2 and its origins. The man character Artie is a survivor of the notorious holocaust. He tells his grandson his story and his lifestyle back then. The characters of his novel show what it was really like to live during the holocaust. The reaction from the characters is horrible and fearsome. It is sad to see there reactions to the situation because, I knew what was ahead for them and they sort of did to.
- Brandon DiMatteo
Animal Farm by George Orwell was a very interesting book. The story was about a group of animals that take over a farm. The animals become very displeased with their owner and plan a revolt. They want to take control of the farm and govern it the way they wanted. Throughout the book the animals struggle through many issues that come up during revolution such as power struggles and starvation. The literary device used in this book is allegory. The whole book is really based on a revolution that occurred in Russia and Orwell uses animals to tell the story of a true-life event. Overall I thought the book was an interesting interpretation of the revolt in Russia.
-Josephine Barone
5/13/08
In the book Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers I am up to the part when Perry and Peewee were saving money to have a good time in Hawaii. Peewee and Perry always talked about everything from their moms to what kind of wine they liked. They heard about all of the fighting that was going on in other places, but not that much where they station, there were a lot of rats running around at night and tons of mosquitos that annoyed everyone. They all ate pretty good, except when they were on the cooks bad side. All of a sudden they heard planes in a distant something was about to happen. Everyone was getting in their places, equipment and all Lieutenant Carroll made sure we were all ready. Perry was learning how to pray. They had to jump out of the plane still ten feet off the ground. It was kind of hard to breathe because of the thick air. They all heard gun fires, but couldnt tell where it was coming from. A few guys from another barracks were killed and wounded. Perry and company got back safe. Everyone didn`t like being in vietnam.
Chris Gallo
B-Block
Black Boy by Richard Wright
While waiting in line at the relief station, Richard notes the impoverished, hungry mass of people sharing their experiences of privation and suffering. He remarks that they no longer appear to be individuals, but rather a community that could organize to throw off the oppressive forces ruling over them. Richard no longer feels that he suffers alone, realizing that millions of others are in the same lot of poverty and desperation.
Richard’s cynicism vanishes. He begins to muse about revolutions and other acts of social change. He senses that the members of society most dangerous to the ruling class are not those who try to defend their rights, but rather those who have no interest in the prizes their society offers. Richard believes that black Americans fit into this inactive category of people. When whites react with violence and terror whenever blacks try to make something of their lives, they unknowingly encourage blacks to abandon any interest in social progress. Richard considers that the oppressive whites could be in great danger if blacks begin to form their own way of life as a community, as he watches them do at the relief station.
Through a federal relief program, Richard obtains a job as an orderly at a medical research institute in a wealthy hospital. He immediately notices the segregation of labor: the health -professionals are all white, while the menial workers are mostly black. Richard becomes interested in the research that takes place at the hospital, but the white doctors rudely rebuff his questions.
Richard works in the hospital basement with three other black men. One, Bill, is about Richard’s age, and a drunk. He terrifies Richard with his brutal ideas, at one point advocating a solution to the race problem that entails guns, bullets, and the phrase “Let us all start over again.” The other two workers, Brand and Cooke, are older and passionately hate each other. Richard muses that their ignorant, narrow lives force them to invent a reason to hate each other so that they can indulge in passionate emotions.
The lab uses dogs, among other animals, for research purposes. To minimize noise in the hospital, the doctors cut the dogs’ vocal cords, using a drug called Nembutal to sedate them. Upon regaining consciousness, the dogs howl silently, and Richard sees the dogs as symbols of silent suffering. He is intrigued by Nembutal and one day decides to smell a vial of it. When he does so, Brand panics, frantically yelling that Nembutal is poisonous and that they must find Richard a doctor immediately. Brand soon reveals that he is joking, but Richard is not amused.
Later, Richard’s boss sends a Jewish boy to time him while he cleans, making him feel more like a slave than he ever has before. Richard grows more irritated when he is cleaning the steps and not one white employee shows him the courtesy of not stepping on the steps that he is cleaning. Dirty water gets tracked everywhere, forcing Richard to repeatedly start a new and will make the different personality and person. Richard boos is overlaid and a ruthless tyrant.
“Perfect match” written by Jodi picoult is a gripping novel. The plot revolves around Nina frost, the protagonist, a prosecutor and the mother of a son who gets molested. Her son becomes due to the trauma and shock and cannot name the perpetrator. When her son finally identity’s him as the father of the church, she files a lawsuit yet her emotions get the best of her. She walks in on the day of the trial and shoots the man who molested her child in front of a courtroom full of eyewitnesses. Naturally Nina is arrested and is charged with murder. Later on in the novel, Nina hires her arch rival, a defense attorney by the name of fisher Carrington. Another turn in the plot is that the priest who molested Nina’s child is actually someone else, strangely the brother of the priest tried and killed earlier, as the reports later show and Nina’s case gets worse. However Nina is acquitted on the basis of temporary insanity and is reunited wither son but her law practicing license is revoked. The author portrays the plot very well and develops the plot very articulately. She uses literary devices such as foreshadowing to indicate the development of Nina’s case, and she also uses point of view to shroud the plot in suspense and mystery, as a means to prevent the reader from guessing the end and maintain their interest. “Perfect match” is a novel that is very interesting and one which can certainly qualify as well written.
Farooq hussain
H-block
Recently I have read a graphic novel titled Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba. Yagami Light is an ace student with a great future in hand who's bored out of his mind. One day he finds the "Death Note" which is a notebook from the Shinigami realm with the power to kill people in any way he desires. With the Death Note, Light decides to create his perfect world, without crime or criminals. However, when criminals start dropping dead one by one, the authorities send the famous detective L to track down the killer. And a battle of wits, deception and logic begins. The graphic novel shows the pictures of what is going on and is full of descriptive language that is advanced. Many of the characters are smart and use words that can describe a situation and it shows how the characters develop through the novels. Overall this is a great series that I love.
Bryan Rivell
A Block
5/15/08
Maus: A Survivor's Tale
is a memoir written by Art Spiegelman. The novel is presented as a graphic novel. Somewhat similar to that of a comic book. It tells the story of the struggle that Spiegelman's father had to encounter to survive the Holocaust as a Jew. The book also depicts the author's troubled relationship that he had with his father. The author uses literary devices in the novel in an unusual way, not like something you'd discover in other novels. All people are presented as animals. All of the Jews were represented as the mice, therefore also brought about the title, the name: Maus. In German meaning "mouse". The Germans are represented by cats. Americans by dogs, and the Poles are represented by pigs. The animals have symbolic meanings for the different nationalities presented in the novel. The main reason that the Jews, were drawn as mice was to show how the mice were helpless and victims. It also portrays the Nazi's views as Jews being equal to vermin. The Holocaust is the main theme in this captivating novel. The novel expresses feeling and is so gripping that I would definitely reread this novel and even recommend it to people of all ages! this novel is highly recommended to those who are not only faced with daily life problems but with racial problems. This novel shows you how some struggled with even a great deal more of difficulties in life. definitely and truly makes you appreciate some of today’s society!
_Andrea Borsic
B block
April 08'
Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is as much a psychological thriller as it is a war novel. Set during the American Civil War,the novel explores the differences between cowardice and bravery, youth and maturity, and fantasy and reality. It follows the life of Henry Fleming, a young man. The philosophical underpinnings of the war do not motivate him; neither does any personal sense of right and wrong. Instead, Henry desires a reputation. He regrets ever having signing up in participating after realizing that horror and suffering precede honor. He runs from battles whenever possible, using every excuse to justify his cowardly actions. He joins marching groups of injured soldiers thinking that doing so would bring him honor without suffering on his part. His lack of a true moral sense manifests itself in the emptiness of the honor and glory that he seeks. He feels no responsibility to earn these accolades. If others call him a hero, he believes he is one. When Henry finally faces battle, however, he feels a “temporary but sublime absence of selfishness.” There, a great change occurs. He loses his will to impersonate a hero, and, instead, he chooses to become one component of a great fighting machine. Henry does not cheat his way to the honor that he so desperately craves when the novel opens; instead, he earns it. This becomes of turning point of the novel and of Henry's life, when he abandons all previous bravado and accepts the true meaning of a soldier and hero. Though it;'s role is not great, symbolism adds a deeper meaning to The Red Badge of Courage . The title itself reflects Henry's belief that courage is measured by the severity of wounds on a body, the reason why is joined the injured veterans in the first place. By faking a wound, he believed he could imitate bravery. Furthermore,by focusing on both gruesome deaths of good people and the unchanged beauty of the world, Crane wishes to portray nature's indifference to human existence. "The tattered soldier", who marches with injured soldiers, symbolizes Henry's conscience. The man, who displays awful battle wounds (therefore, bravery), constantly inquires about Henry's lack of wounds. Though the young soldier may have been vain, it is clear that his vanity was a pure act. Overall and thus far in the book, Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is a captivating and enthralling book for young readers.
Aleksandra Makowska
Block B
Jackie King!!!
H-block
5/18/08
The novel I have been reading is Night by Elie Wiesel. This novel is a very exciting yet tragic story. It’s about the hardships of being a Jew in the horrific time of the Holocaust. The tragedy that happened was something that history will never let go of. Elie Wiesel describes what happened to him and his family. He and his family were removed from their homes with hundreds of other Jews, gypsies, and poles. This is because Adolf Hitler and the Nazis blamed the Jews for Germanys Depression after World War 1. Hitler and the Nazis believe that the Aryan race was the master race. Also meaning the main race or the only race that should exist, this race consisted of blonds with blue eyes. Although the whole novel uses many literary devices, the device of symbolism and imagery is used in this quote, “Where is God? Where is He?” “Someone behind me asked . . . For more than half an hour [the child in the noose] stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red; his eyes were not yet glazed.” This quote symbolizes the death of poor Elie’s childhood because of the horrific things he is now seeing in the Holocaust. The imagery in this quote makes the reader imagine what it’s like to be standing over the fire pit and watching a young child suffer struggling to live but knowing he will die. This novel Night is amazing and keeps the reader hooked by describing the actual events of the Holocaust. This time was very tragic and reading this novel will help everyone to understand how cruel the Nazis really were.
Jackie King!!!
H-block
5/18/08
In the time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez shows a rich tale and how far a women will go to prove what is justice. This novel took place in the Dominican Repuice during the dictorship of Trujillo. The main character Minerva Mirabel de Tavarez does not like the laws that Trujillo sets and she becomes and outspoken on the real tares that Trujillo is doing. He is killing thousands of people for no reason. Julia Alvarez descirbes this novel with such a gut- wrenching climax. In other words in a breathtaking extint. This novel was well described and shows much love and passion for justice and morals than any book I have read so far. Therefore this novel ad an enjoyable book to read with lots of facts and fiction.
Jeribeth P. Fradera
B-Block
In the time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez shows a rich tale and how far women will go to prove what is justice. This novel took place in the Dominican Republic during the dictorship of Trujillo. The main character Minerva Mirabel de Tavarez does not like the laws that Trujillo sets and she becomes and outspoken on the real tares that Trujillo is doing. He is killing thousands of people for no reason. Julia Alvarez describes this novel with such a gut- wrenching climax. In other words in a breathtaking extent. This novel was well described and shows much love and passion for justice and morals than any book I have read so far. Therefore this novel ad an enjoyable book to read with lots of facts and fiction.
Jeribeth P. Fradera
B-Block
In the novel Black Boy by Richard Wright during this time he is in school. Richard aunt made him go to a religious school instead of a orindary school. During class he was blamed for the walnuts on the floor, but he didn't do it the boy in front of him did. The teacher told him to get up but he didn't, so she grabbed him and told him to go to the front of the room and she beat him because he wouldn't tell who did it. When he got home his aunt tried to beat him again but he put up a fight. His aunt tried again and he ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife to defend himself. He told her if she didn't leave him alone he will kill her. Then his mom and grandma came in the kitchen and broke it up. The next day in school he played a game called pop the whip. While he was playing the game he got hurt on his head and his head started bleeding and got bruised.
The novel Staying Pure by Stephanie Perry Moore is intriguing. This novel takes place in many different settings in reference to Payton Sky and her decisions. The main character Payton sky is faced with many difficult and life changing experience and decisions. The very first decision or struggle she is faced with is falling into the temptation of fornication. As a high school senior, she had everything she could ever want. Successful parents, popularity, and she had excellent grades. However, she also had a boyfriend and friends which bring joy and heartbreak. Payton Sky’s boyfriend of two years Dakari Graham now is starting to put in the pressure in taking their relationship to the next level (sex). Therefore, now she is torn between what her soul believes and what her heart and flesh wants. She struggles to make the best decisions. Payton wants to honor God in staying pure, but her flesh and hormones are telling her to do what Dakari want because of the love she has for him. As a result, Payton Skky sticks with honoring God even though it comes with pain brought from Dakari leaving her for another girl that can satisfy her needs. The author Stephanie Perry Moore uses the literary device of conflict to develop an intriguing plot. Conflict is presented to Payton from the beginning to the end off the novel. From dealing with the break up with Dakari, then with her friend end up in drama, decision of colleges, to actually moving on from Dakari and stating a healthy new relationship with Ted. Throughout her journey, she has one continuous question running through her mind. “Will her choice be the right one.”
Ashley Jones
H-Block
KISS & BLOG by Alyson Noel tell a familiar and outplayed story of high school drama, except with a twist. Winter and Sloan have been best friends since grammar school, and also have been given the title of invisible throughout their freshman year. During the summer of sophomore year both Winter and Sloan by in style clothing, practice how to talk act and even put on makeup like a “popular girl.” During their sophomore year the two best friends promise each other they will do everything in their power to become one of the glorified popular girls, even it means changing who they are completely, or going out for the cheerleading team, under one condition-Never to leave another behind. Sloan quickly forgets this rule and leaves Winter to fend for herself, while she climbs the popularity ladder. Sloan goes extremely low at one point in the novel, and even steals Winter’s cheer ideas, making the squad no problem. Angry by how her so-called best friend had betrayed her Winter at first flees from her problems, by leaving for New York to visit her dad without telling anyone. There, Winter buys clothes that truly show her identity, as well as meeting a guy from her father’s office who is an intern. After a week Winter decides she is ready to go back and face her problems. When winter returns to school she has no friends at all, and sits by herself at lunch, until a new kid Rey sits with her. Winter feels he is funny yet somewhat weird because he is always carrying around his guitar, and always posting on his bands website. The bands website give Winter the perfect plan for revenge against Sloan and her “A-list” friends. That night Winter starts a blog under the name Eleanor Rigby, after the famous Beatles song that tells a story of a lonely woman who lives a lonely life and continues to after she has died. Eleanor Rigby begins to expose secrets about her former best friend, Sloan, but uses the code name Princess Pink. The blog begins to become a hot topic at the school Winter and Sloan attend, yet no one knows who is writing the blog or who they are writing about. As the blog begins to build momentum so does Winter’s relationship with Rey, as well as Rey’s friends. It isn’t until the end of the story when Princess Pink (Sloan) rats herself out by accident in front of her new popular friends, while Winter realizes who are her true friends and stops obsessing over her old ones. Alyson Noel, the author of BLOG & KISS uses irony as the twist in the end. Sloan in the end ends up not having a single friend, because she doesn’t even know herself who she is. Throughout the novel Sloan had worked so hard to gain the title of a popular girl, but in the end is the absolute true loser, and doesn’t deserve Winter as a friend who was always there for her. This story is just a reminder of obsessing of being popular isn’t as great as it seems, and to remember who your real friends are.
-Alexandra Crimmins H-Block
Where The Heart Is by Billie Letts is a very inspiring miracle book that I never want to put down. This book is revolved around the not lucky number but the very, very UNLUCKY number seven. A seven-teen year old girl named Novalee Nation was seven months pregnant. Her and her boyfriend were not married, they had no money, and no place to go. They decided to head for California. Each time i read a page I just want to keep going and going. This novel expresses the ups and downs of being a teenager. Author trys to convince the reader that its is surly no picnic to have a baby with no money, or no place to go. Letts wants the readers to know that being a kid isn't easy.
Where The Heart Is by Billie Lettesis and eye opening novel that makes you think about many life experiences. While Novalee and her boyfriend were on their way to California they stoped in Sequoyah, Oklamoma. Novalee had to get a few things in a near by Wal-Mart. So she went in Wal-Mart and came out in a matter of minutes. But, when Novalee came out of Wal-Mart she discovered that her boyfriend didched her and their unborn child. Novalee didnt know what to do. She had no one. She was miles away from home with no car or any money. She had no place to go. So when everyone left the Wal-Mart that Novalee and her babywere stranded at, she went in and slept their every night for about two months.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, is about a young boy who is orphaned as a baby because of the tragic death of his parents. Harry ends up having to live with his mother's sister and her family, the Durselys, who treat Harry unkindly. Harry is sent an acceptance letter from Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry which he accpets after his aunt and uncle are visited by a man from the school named Hagrid. Harry is shocked when he gets to Hogwarts because unknowing to him, he is famous. As a baby, Harry's parents are murdered by an evil wizard named Voldemort, who tries killing baby Harry. Voldemort's spell backfires because of the protection on Harry because of the love of his mother. Harry meets many people at Hogwarts who becomes his friends and still others who are not his friends. Harry and his friends fight a troll and they figure out different puzzles to get the sorcerer's stone. The sorcerer's stone is a magical stone that prolongs someone's life and also is desired by Voldemort, who comes back to fight Harry and Harry defeats Voldemort. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a very good book that is interesting and keeps the reader on edge waiting to find out what happens next.
Bethany Greenman
D Block
April Blog
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is an intriguing traumatic novel to read. The novel is told in first person point of view. The story is all about four Mirabal sisters living in a country shadowed by dictatorship. They are living under the orders of the Dominican dictator, Trujillo. The sisters, Patria, Minerva, Maria Teresa and Dede were called Las Mariposas also known as "The Butterflies". They were called "The Butterflies" because they lived their lives in the name of freedom. In the novel, Dede and Minerva are having the most conflict. Maria Teresa and Patria participate in a movement. On November 25th every year, Dede had to face news casts to talk to them about the story of what happened to her family. Dede was the only surviving one after her family got murdered. The novel is very intense, suspenseful, and emotional. Dede was a very strong woman, despite what happened to her family and considering all the horrific things she had to go through everyday of her life.
Kristine Munoz
B Block
Where The Heart Is by Billie Lettesis and eye opening novel that makes you think about many life experiences. While Novalee and her boyfriend were on their way to California they stoped in Sequoyah, Oklamoma. Novalee had to get a few things in a near by Wal-Mart. So she went in Wal-Mart and came out in a matter of minutes. But, when Novalee came out of Wal-Mart she discovered that her boyfriend didched her and their unborn child. Novalee didnt know what to do. She had no one. She was miles away from home with no car or any money. She had no place to go. So when everyone left the Wal-Mart that Novalee and her babywere stranded at, she went in and slept their every night for about two months.
-By Victoria Palladino
B Block
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K Rowling is an inspiring novel, third in it's series. This exciting book is about the story of Harry Potter returning to Hogwarts, but only to learn about secrets of his past. Harry goes to Hogwarts, and learns of a dangerous man named Sirius Black, who has murdered many people. The entire school is in lock down, but Sirius Black still manages to break into the school, so Harry sets out to discover, and possibly kill him. Harry, after a long and suspenseful talk/battle with Sirius Black, Harry finds out that Sirius is not the man everyone thinks, but an innocent person being g framed by one of Voldemorts henchmen, Peter Pettigrew. After the whole scene, Peter escapes, Sirius is saved by a mystical creature, and Hogwarts is save again. J.K Rowling uses plenty of personification(just like all her books), as well simile to connect the past to present, and even the future. The author also uses foreshadowing to present the reader with the uncertainty of just how the book will end. Also, J.K Rowling uses some irony, in order to make the reader think that the impossible will happen, even though it already did when reading. For example, when Harry and Sirius capture Peter Pettigrew, the author attempts to adjust the readers view of a safe, and non-ironic environment. Just when the reader thinks they are about to turn the page to see Peter go to jail, they are surprised to see him turn into a mouse(by using magic) and escape. Nobody would have guessed that Peter would have done that, but it happened, and J.K. Rowling uses this suspense to her advantage, because she can cause anything to happen in a world of magic. Generally, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is an impressively suspenseful book that will have any reader off the edge of their seats, eager to turn the page to discover more, but learn of the most ironic thing that J.K Rowling can make up in the fictional Harry Potter series.
Vincent Arcello
H Block
The book Staying Pure by Stephanie Perry Moore is a brilliant novel that almost everyone can enjoy. In the novel Staying Pure, the main character Payton Skky is a stright A student and captain of the cheerleading squad at her school Lucy Laney High School. Payton also dates Dakari Graham the most popular boy in the school. After their relationship has progressed for more than three years, Dakari askes to take it to the next level. Payton is unwilling to give Dakari what he desires and they break up. After looking over her life, Payton rediscovers herself with the help of her best friends Rain, Lynzi, and Dymond. Payton now dates a strong Christian that has the same beliefs and respects her and her wishes. The main literary divice that Stephanie Perry Moore uses in her book Staying Pure is setting. In every situation that was presented the description of the setting made it real. Before, when Payton was dating Dakari he wanted to have sex right then and there. They were in the parking lot of an abandoned delicatessen without any one around. The only other object there was a dim street light a block away from them. Staying Pure is a brilliant novel because while being a very enjoyable book it also engages in some serious issues.
Kristin Martin
D- Block
In Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples it describes the life of a Muslim named Shabanu, growing up in the Cholistan Desert in Pakistan. At the young age of eleven, Shabanu is faced with many internal and external conflicts. Internally, she fights with herself of becoming a woman and staying a child. The woman inside of her is fighting for control. Externally she is battling to be the person everyone else wants her to be. As a young lady I also experience some of these problems. Shabanu has to be a obedient and dutiful Muslim daughter. She is on the verge of becoming a woman. Change is occuring but she does not want to face those changes. She wants to stay in the desert with her mother and father and Phulan. The conflict of the story is that she does not want to grow up. Shabanu faces many different problems that are not only physical but emotional too. As she grows older she begins to understand that obstacles make a person wiser. Also, that the only way to to deal with these obstacles is to conquer them and accept life for the good and the bad. Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples is wonderful book about growing up and accepting it with no complaints.
Darlene Akanmu
B Block
Tears of A Tiger by Sharon M.Draper is a Drama about a boy Andy who was driving while drunk and killed his best friend Robert. The book focuses on the impact the death and andy's actions had on him and his friends. It's very detailed and intriguing making it hard for the reader to put down. As Andy suffers from depression because of the car accident, sorrow and pain seeps through every page. The author Sharon M.Draper used many literary devices to get the message of the book across, one of them being imagery and conflict. I recommend this book to people who like drama's based on realistic situations. Overall, the book was well written and highlt detailed.
Nothing but the Truth by Avi is an intriguing story told in an epistolary style using letters, dialogue and memos to describe the tale of a young boy named Phillip Malloy. Phillip Malloy became suspended for “humming” the national anthem while it was played over the PA system. Malloy dramatizes this incident to his advantage and depicts his story in a way that is beneficial to him. The conflict becomes a national story. He becomes caught up in an intricate web where he is battling the forces of “patriotism” and his school policy. In the end, his struggle for justice causes him to lose more than he bargained for. The book focuses on the theme of truth and how it can be distorted by the media, the victims and the protagonist. In the book there is no clear “villain”, the reader is left to determine who to believe. Events can be distorted by individuals for their own purposes, and Avi tries to show the reader that sometimes serious consequences can result in not being truthful. Avi uses forshadowing throughout the book. Mr. Malloy, Phillip’s father, was a college drop-out that would have gone to the Olympics if he had stayed in school. Mr. Malloy and Phillip are constantly compared to each other and one can determine that Phillip will become like his father. Phillip was forced to leave his old school and by leaving his dreams of becoming a famous track runner were slashed. Foreshadowing of Phillip’s failure is eminent throughout the whole book.Nothing but the Truth is a book that forces the reader to analyze the characters and the plot, which leaves the reader with a feeling of doubting truth long after the book has been read. It is highly recommended to read this amazing book if one wishes to rethink the idea of truth and the many aspects of its presentation to the public.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was an amazing novel that tells the story of two migrant workers named George and Lennie. George is a small man with sharp features and a clever mind. Lennie is a big man with a mental disability and he does not understand his immense strength. Despite their different personalities, the two are closely bonded and dependent on each other. They both travel from job to job in California, sharing a dream that one day they will have their own land and live together. George and Lennie begin work on a ranch, but things become very tense due to the fact that Lennie cannot control his actions. Lennie becomes attracted to Curley’s wife, the boss’s son. Lennie accidently kills his puppy and runs to the barn, where he is consoled by Curley’s wife. Lennie tells her that he likes petting soft things, so she lets him play with her hair. Lennie grabs her too tight, so she starts screaming. In an attempt to make her stop, he accidentally breaks her neck and kills Curley’s wife. Afterwards, Lennie flees to the Salinas River and George finds him. George begins to tell Lennie their dream life they will have together and then shoots Lennie in the back of the head. When the other men arrive, George tells them it was all an accident but only Slim, another worker on the ranch, understands what truly happened. George had killed his friend out of mercy. Slim and George walk away, leaving the other men puzzled.
John Steinbeck uses several literary elements to develop the plot in Of Mice and Men. One of these elements is the use of foreshadowing. In the novel, a man named Candy owned a very elderly dog. The dog was no longer useful and was living a life of pain, so Carlson, a worker on the ranch, insists that he shoots it. This event supports the idea that the strong will dispose of the weak, and ultimately foreshadows the death of Lennie. Lennie was like the dog, very loved but causing nothing but trouble to himself and to others. Of Mice and Men was full of suspense and kept the reader wondering of what was going to happen next. The novel also shows the true meaning and value of friendship.
-Angela Tsetsakos
-D Block
Estrella’s Quinceañera by Malin Alegria is a very interesting, exciting and intriguing novel about the lives of teenagers living in the world today. The main characters name is Estrella Alvarez. She is a Mexican/American fifteen year old girl living in East San Jose, California. Turning fifteen is a big deal in Estrella's cultural family, because its the year of her Quinceanera. Estrella's mom has been planning her party since Estrella was young. Her mother wants Estrella to have this huge party with cheesy decorations, a Marachi Band, and a huge orange dress. Estrella though, doesn't want any of this. She wants a normal party at a fancy restaurant with her new sophisticated private school friends. Growing up, Estrella tries to fit in with her new friends from her private school. Estrella got accepted to the private school through a scholarship. Little do her private school friends know about her true home life. To her friends, Estrella is known as "Star". Underneath Estrella though, is a girl who lives in the barrio. Her friends have no idea about the real Estrella. Even though Estrella tries to keep her home life a secret from her friends, they begin to get suspicious when she falls for a guy named Speedy from her neighborhood. Estrella's friends and family would definitely disapprove of her being with him. Stuck between her family's wishes and her new friends, Estrella is forced to make some serious decisions that might or might not change her life forever. The novel truly is about being able to make decisions and finding out who you really want to be in life. The novel is also about staying true to yourself, and not pretending to be someone who your not. In Estrella’s Quinceañera, the author uses theme the most out of all the literary devices. The theme is about how Estrella is trying to figure herself out.
Estrella is trying to fit in with everyone else, when truthfully, she should just be herself and accept who she really is inside.
Angela Matrone
B Block :)
The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer was an inspiring novel about A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family. The Lost Boy is a follow up from the novel A Child Called It. The Lost Boy tells us the story of when david leaves his abusive mother and alcoholic father and started fostercare. When David first starts fostercare it is a stuggle for him because he changed his foster home alot. Due to David behavior and experiences he has in the foster homes he ch naged his foster home five times. Davied behavior was sometimes so bad that one day he was sent to a juvenile detention where he was held untill his behavior was much better. It was hard for David to understand that he was finnaly free of his mother abuse, that he made himself believe he deservered evreything his mother did to him. Dave Pelzer the author uses very storng imagery when explaining the pain and horror he went though with his abusive mother. David was a young boy who was rebellious and defiant but managed to endear many popel into helpping him. Thoughtout the novel The Lost Boy David stuggles for survial of the real world. As you read this novel you will soon feel the pain that the child david went though. From start to finsih you wont wnat to put this book down untill your done. The novel The Lost Boy is great way to see how otherf live and to experiences what they went though.
Samantha Villa
B - Block
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