This book has some really strong plot action going on, but in this blog post I'm writing about the inner feelings of the main character, Matt. Matt is a clone of the lord of an opium farm. The farm usually makes clones with no brain for field work, but Matteo Alacran, the original Matt, wanted to make a copy of himself in his old years. Matt is just starting to learn what he is and dealing with the fact that he's different from people. And he's going through this at about 9 years old.
Matt is going through a lot of emotions. He's sad that he's not normal, mad that people hate him for being a fake human, and scared of what's going to happen to him as he gets older. Even though it's very in the moment and about what Matt is figuring out about the world while he's young, I think it's sort of a coming of age story. He's being exposed to a world he never knew all at once, a world full cruelty and love, and he is maturing in a way. This is a strong story and I like it a lot so far, even though I've just started reading it.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The true plot in Shades of Grey
I'm reading; Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde, and I'm starting to finally see the real issues in the book. Until recently this book has been a utopia-like book that is supposed to be messed up somehow but had no huge problems. Now that there are problems showing up I can really analyze the book more as I read it.
I think that this book has a really strong theme of how social hierarchy hurts the people who are excluded from the top. At first it's just the way it is, the hierarchy seems normal, but then you realize it is really destroying their world. The way their classes work is people can only see one color, or none at all. The people who can see colors are judged and treated based on the color they can see. People who can't see any color; "Greys" are seen as inferior to the rest of society, much like black people were treated during slavery and segregation. For example in one scene when they were playing hockeyball, Courtland referred to Jane, a grey, as just "The grey" instead of Jane, which, despite being true, is a big put-down to say. The greys always have to work labor jobs in factories or serve as house maids, or a similar job. The author does a good and moving job of showing how people believe greys are simply not as good as everyone else. When I read parts like this, it was angering. It's just like what our country went through.
I think that the author didn't just write this book as a fun book, he wrote it to show how terrible social classes and hierarchy can be. Their society supports the idea that certain people are superior to others.
This book makes such a big point of how bad this kind of a society is that it is disturbing, but I think it does this in a way that doesn't turn off the reader but brings them into the lesson. I really like it so far and want to keep reading and I'm sure something will change with the social system.
I think that this book has a really strong theme of how social hierarchy hurts the people who are excluded from the top. At first it's just the way it is, the hierarchy seems normal, but then you realize it is really destroying their world. The way their classes work is people can only see one color, or none at all. The people who can see colors are judged and treated based on the color they can see. People who can't see any color; "Greys" are seen as inferior to the rest of society, much like black people were treated during slavery and segregation. For example in one scene when they were playing hockeyball, Courtland referred to Jane, a grey, as just "The grey" instead of Jane, which, despite being true, is a big put-down to say. The greys always have to work labor jobs in factories or serve as house maids, or a similar job. The author does a good and moving job of showing how people believe greys are simply not as good as everyone else. When I read parts like this, it was angering. It's just like what our country went through.
I think that the author didn't just write this book as a fun book, he wrote it to show how terrible social classes and hierarchy can be. Their society supports the idea that certain people are superior to others.
This book makes such a big point of how bad this kind of a society is that it is disturbing, but I think it does this in a way that doesn't turn off the reader but brings them into the lesson. I really like it so far and want to keep reading and I'm sure something will change with the social system.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
What really hard things are happening in "Shades of Grey"?
In "Shades of Grey", the main character, Eddie, is leaving the soft and "normal" life he has always known to go to a new town. This book actually has a lot of social justice going on. People are ranked by what colors they can see. Certain people are simply better than others, with greys at the bottom. This is racism and it shows throughout the whole book. Eddie is starting to realize that there is something wrong with the way that people treat each other.
I think that the characters are going through some really hard things. They have to face the fact that certain people are better or worse than them based on their color, and they are not supposed to be friends. I think that Eddie is starting to understand why Jane is so mad at everything and realize that he isn't happy with the way the world is. I haven't read much of the book yet but I know it will turn out to have a really deep and serious look at the issues of racism and prejudice.
This book directly relates to people being treated differently based on how they look, what they believe, or who they love. When I first started reading the book I was really disturbed by how vividly and literally these issues were portrayed. I think it's a really strong book so far and I really like it.
I think that the characters are going through some really hard things. They have to face the fact that certain people are better or worse than them based on their color, and they are not supposed to be friends. I think that Eddie is starting to understand why Jane is so mad at everything and realize that he isn't happy with the way the world is. I haven't read much of the book yet but I know it will turn out to have a really deep and serious look at the issues of racism and prejudice.
This book directly relates to people being treated differently based on how they look, what they believe, or who they love. When I first started reading the book I was really disturbed by how vividly and literally these issues were portrayed. I think it's a really strong book so far and I really like it.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Who's perspective is missing? In Feed
In Feed, the book I'm reading, the character and his friend Violet are realizing how skewed their world is. The perspective that is missing is that of their friends, who are going on with life normally. While Titus and Violet are wondering what's really going on in the world, their friends are going on with life but having to watch Titus and Violet do all this.
I think that Link and the others are confused by what's going on but also they just see it as some crazy obsession. It's weird to think that Titus and Violet are discovering terrible things but there's nothing about what their friends think of it. They are portrayed in the book as not very intelligent, so maybe they just don't think anything of it at all. But I think there might be something there that the author left out on purpose.
I think that Link and the others are confused by what's going on but also they just see it as some crazy obsession. It's weird to think that Titus and Violet are discovering terrible things but there's nothing about what their friends think of it. They are portrayed in the book as not very intelligent, so maybe they just don't think anything of it at all. But I think there might be something there that the author left out on purpose.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
How the protagonist is dealing with the conflict in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest, the protagonist (Chief Bromden) has started to let on that he is not deaf and dumb. One of the characters; Mcmurphy, is rebelling against the "Big Nurse" and when he offered the chief a piece of chewing gum one night, the chief said "Thanks". The reason this is special is because chief Bromden doesn't talk. Ever. The whole ward thinks that he can't hear or speak, but now he has told his life story to Mcmurphy.
I think that Chief Brombden trusts Mcmurphy, and that is why he is talking. He believes that Mcmurphy will understand how he feels, and what he has been through, which Mcmurphy does.Chief Brombden is scared to tell anyone else that he can hear though, because he has been to secret meetings where things he shouldn't know were discussed. I think that some of the things Chief says happened at the meetings, like doing weird experiments on a patient, are another part of his imagination. On the other hand, the weird moments Chief has where the world slows down are becoming less frequent. I think that maybe Mcmurphy is exciting Chief and he is starting to come out of his wierd shell.
I really like how this book is coming along and I really want to keep reading to see what will come of Mcmurphy's invasion.
I think that Chief Brombden trusts Mcmurphy, and that is why he is talking. He believes that Mcmurphy will understand how he feels, and what he has been through, which Mcmurphy does.Chief Brombden is scared to tell anyone else that he can hear though, because he has been to secret meetings where things he shouldn't know were discussed. I think that some of the things Chief says happened at the meetings, like doing weird experiments on a patient, are another part of his imagination. On the other hand, the weird moments Chief has where the world slows down are becoming less frequent. I think that maybe Mcmurphy is exciting Chief and he is starting to come out of his wierd shell.
I really like how this book is coming along and I really want to keep reading to see what will come of Mcmurphy's invasion.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Blog Post #3: Protagonist review
The book I'm reading is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.The book takes place in a mental ward at a hospital, and most of the characters are insane.This makes it really hard to understand what's going on in the story, because you don't know whether or not to trust what the main character says is going on. For example, he said that sometimes the "big nurse" (the antagonist) turns off the clock and time freezes for days at a time. This makes me think that maybe he has some sort of thing where his mind spaces out and he feels time passing really slowly.
Besides the fact that he is insane, I think the main character is really smart. The other patients call him deaf and dumb because he never speaks or responds to what someone says. I think that the reason he never talks is because he is such a good observer. It is a really cool POV in the book because he is so rarely involved in what's going on that you forget that it's a first person style book instead of third person. He just watches.
The most recent thing I was reading is when the main character skips taking his bedtime pill that the staff gives them. He thinks this is something to make the patients sleep and not be woken by anything. While he is awake in bed the room is lowered down into a room full of lifeless workers in some strange facility. I'm sure that this is another one of his fantasies, but maybe it is going to become a symbol or metaphor later on.
I really like this book so far and the narrorators observance is a really intruiging way of getting the story through.
Besides the fact that he is insane, I think the main character is really smart. The other patients call him deaf and dumb because he never speaks or responds to what someone says. I think that the reason he never talks is because he is such a good observer. It is a really cool POV in the book because he is so rarely involved in what's going on that you forget that it's a first person style book instead of third person. He just watches.
The most recent thing I was reading is when the main character skips taking his bedtime pill that the staff gives them. He thinks this is something to make the patients sleep and not be woken by anything. While he is awake in bed the room is lowered down into a room full of lifeless workers in some strange facility. I'm sure that this is another one of his fantasies, but maybe it is going to become a symbol or metaphor later on.
I really like this book so far and the narrorators observance is a really intruiging way of getting the story through.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Peak- end of book reaction
Peak, by Roland Smith, is a realistic (sort of ) fiction book about a kid who's parents are both experienced climbers, and his dad left him as a child to run expeditions on mountains like Everest. The book starts off with Peak, the main character, climbing skyscrapers in New York because he wants to climb and the buildings are the tallest things around. On this one particular night when he is climbing the Wolworth building, he is caught by the police. After hearing about his climbs, a boy with no climbing experience tries to climb a building to be "cool" like Peak and falls to his death. Peak is arrested and put on trial just for climbing the building, but people are even more mad at him because of the other boy's death.
The first twist in the plot comes when Peak's father, who has been out of Peaks life longer than he can remember, shows up to the trial. He offers to take Peak out of the country to keep the media away. He says that Peak is going to be going to an international school in Nepal, but he has other plans. When they arrive in Kathmandu, a city in Nepal, Josh (Peaks dad) tells Peak that the real plan is for Peak to climb mount Everest. If he does, he will be the youngest person ever to summit the mountain.
Throughout Peak's training on the mountain, he starts to have mixed feelings about his dad. He thinks that his dad wants to have Peak break the record just to get publicity for his company. Also, he thinks about how his dad was never his father, he was never there throughout Peak's life, and Peak resents that.
I think that Peak has good reason to be mad at his dad, but also in a way I think that Josh is sort of trying to make it up to Peak, he just doesn't know how to because he feels ashamed that he was never a good father.
The first twist in the plot comes when Peak's father, who has been out of Peaks life longer than he can remember, shows up to the trial. He offers to take Peak out of the country to keep the media away. He says that Peak is going to be going to an international school in Nepal, but he has other plans. When they arrive in Kathmandu, a city in Nepal, Josh (Peaks dad) tells Peak that the real plan is for Peak to climb mount Everest. If he does, he will be the youngest person ever to summit the mountain.
Throughout Peak's training on the mountain, he starts to have mixed feelings about his dad. He thinks that his dad wants to have Peak break the record just to get publicity for his company. Also, he thinks about how his dad was never his father, he was never there throughout Peak's life, and Peak resents that.
I think that Peak has good reason to be mad at his dad, but also in a way I think that Josh is sort of trying to make it up to Peak, he just doesn't know how to because he feels ashamed that he was never a good father.
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