Could it be?

It is obvious to even us kids that our country is in a recession and is in great turmoil. I am taking an econ class right now and it has open my eyes to the economy, something I never knew much about. While talking about our situation right now, I wondered, could this be as bad as the Great Depression? Could we be reliving the problems faced in The Grapes of Wrath? The idea won't leave my mind because I am reminded of how alike our problems are. Think about it. The great deal of unemplyoment, the banks taking houses, the lack of optimism, they are so much alike. I then went on to wonder, if Steinbeck were alive, what would he tell us? Would he criticize the banks again, comparing them to monsters and us to slaves? Would he tell us to fight because that is the only thing we can do? But what is there to fight? I'm starting to understand how the Joad's felt in that they had no idea about who to rebel against. Seeing this comparison has made me realize that history only repeats itself. I just hope we are able to pull through like the Joad's! Comment if you see any other comparisons!

lit circles

I think our lit circle groups have been going really well. It helps a lot to hear other people's opinions to get a well rounded view of the book. I know that when I first started reading Things Fall Apart, I absolutely hated it but once I've talked it over with my group, I am beginning to appreciate it a lot more. I think that's how it is with all books, at least with me. For some reason, books are so much better when you discuss them and get different views and ideas onto the table.

So far in the book, our group has predicted that the new English colonizers are going to break up the Ibo tribe. We think Nwoye is kind of what started the spark and will cause a domino effect, leading things to fall apart. I couldn't help but wonder during our discussion what Achebe wanted us to get out of this book. What is he trying to say? Is he criticizing Christianity? Or is he saying that it is a good thing? Mrs. Clinch was telling us today that he made Okonkwo look like a jerk on purpose to criticize him. If Okonkwo is so much the representative of the Ibo tribe, then is he criticizing them? I think I will know the answer to this once we have finished the book. More to come!

sitting, waiting, wondering

As I'm sitting at my desk, waiting for words or any sort of idea to come to my head and travel down to my fingers, I look up and notice something. I keep all of my books that we have read this semester on my desk and I noticed that it is beginning to create a bit of a pile. I just then realized how many books I read this semester, which actually makes me kind of proud. Think about it. In one semester, we read eleven books and we still have more to go. Ok, to some of you this might be nothing, but to me this is absolutely amazing. When I first started this class, I viewed myself as a slow reader, but now I have noticed myself beginning to pick up the speed, which I could really use in college. I now feel like I have an arsenal of books that I could at any time take out and use on the AP test (ok maybe not an arsenal but you get the point). I guess this blog's point is to just remind all of you that no matter how bad you're failing mrs. clinch's class, or how far behind you are on blogs, or even how AP lit makes you want to rip your hair out, you still read eleven books, and to me my friends, that is the epitome of amazing.

grapes of wrath discussions

I think our discussions on the Grapes of Wrath have been going really well! I feel like we don't even need Ms. Clinch anymore watching over us anymore. I love that we are digging deeper and deeper with each discussion and really tearing the book apart.

My favorite discussion so far was the one about the biblical allusions. I thought it was so cool how Steinbeck put all those allusions in the book, and I was actually surprised that I knew some of them. I think the allusions added to the novel as a whole and gave it depth, but it also made me confused about Steinbeck himself. What kind of man was he? Was he really religious? Christian? Or did he make his own religion? If he did make his own religion, then why did he add all those biblical allusions? I can't see him being a really Christian kind of guy because he seems so transcendental with the whole idea of the oversoul and the idea of constant change and revolution. I think that is why I liked this book so much because it talked about change and how we must keep moving on in order to not become stagnated.

Anyways, I hope our discussions keep going well and I hope mine does too tomorrow!

things fall apart response 1

So far, there are several elements of this book that I do not like. I especially do not like the character of Okonkwo. I find him very stubborn and arrogant. Achebe describes Okonkwo as “not a man of thought but of action” (69) and he thought “To show affection was a sign of weakness” (28). I totally disagree with this type of character because I was brought up to ‘think before you speak’ and I believe thinking is a lot more important than acting before thinking about it I think this is one of Okonkwo’s main flaws and is the reason why he feels so bad for killing Ikemefuna. If he had thought about it before he acted, I think he would have realized that he was making a huge decision. I also think showing emotions is important or else you will not be a happy person. Maybe this is why Okonkwo has such a bad temper.
I also don’t like Okonkwo’s attitude towards women. He regards them as weak and lower to men. Chapter seven even states “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man” (Achebe 53). He has three wives and treats them equally badly. The fact that he beats them and he shot at one of them disgusts me. To me, that shows weakness because he cannot simply talk to his wife, but he rather resort to violence, which does not solve anything.
I feel bad for Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, who became very close to Ikemefuna. I feel like there are several differences between Nwoye and his father. Nwoye is more logical and still “prefer[s] the stories that his mother tells” (Achebe 53). However, “Okonkwo encouraged the boys to sit with him… and he told them stories of the land- masculine stories of violence and bloodshed” (Achebe 53). Okonkwo, on the other hand, is more physical and only concerned with how many people a man has killed. I predict that Nwoye will soon grow apart from Okonkwo because of their differences, just like Okonkwo and his father did.
I hope the book gets better soon because right now it is a little slow and I am not getting the whole picture. I hope it picks up!

glass

I've started reading a book outside of class that has come to my attention.

It is extremely different from the books we have been reading lately.
Far Far from it actually
It is called Glass by Ellen Hopkins and it is the sequel to the book Crank
Not only is the storyline really interesting, but the way the story is set up is really cool. It is almost like a poem, written in verse, however, it does not rhyme. Rather it tells a story. And on each page, the stanzas and verses are typed and layed out in different designs that almost match what is going on in the story.

I am about to tell you what the story is about, but I must warn you, it is rather disturbing.
Glass follows the life of a young teenage girl who is addicted to crystal meth and is struggling to raise her son alone. If you read Crank then you know the character of Kristina, or Bree, rather well and know most of her story. The sequel describes her struggle with her knewly born baby and her relapse into the 'monsters' hands. It's actually really sad to read because I know that some teenagers actually go through this. I haven't gotten very far but I thought it was really interesting. Comment if you have read it before!

Harry Potter Fan Rejoice!

Words couldn't describe how happy I was when I discovered J.K. Rowling's newest book The Tales of Beedle the Bard. I finally got around to reading it because we have been so busy reading (thanks to Mrs. Clinch, jk) and I absolutely loved it!

Even though Rowling promised not to write another Harry Potter book, this children's book is loosely related to Harry. If you Harry freaks remember, in the last book Hermione comes across this exact book and as a result, J.K. decided to create it. Yes, they are 'wizard bedtime stories' however it is a fun read and they actually give new insight to the world of Harry. A neat thing this book has is that after ever chapter, 'Albus Dumbledore', writes notes and opinions on each tale, kind of like the reviews and analysis we do in lit class. It not only gives you more history into the book, but it also explains certain terms and gives you background to the story.

My favorite tale out of the five is the last one, or "The Tale of the Three Brothers". It is an interesting tale of three bothers who are on a quest when they meet Death. Death grants each one wish. The first wishes for the unstoppable wand, or Elder wand, the second wishes for eternal life, like the sorcerer's stone, and the third, and the wisest, wishes for the invisibility cloak. Overtime, death takes each of the brothers for their own, however the third one delayed his meeting with Death by wearing the invisibility cloak until he was old and gave it to his son. He then met Death gladly and departed his life gladly. Later on in Albus's notes, he explains how the story tells us something about human nature: 'Hope springs eternal' in which there is a side note that reads: 'This quotation demonstrates that Albus Dumbledore was not only exceptionally well-read in Wizarding terms, but also that he was familiar with the writings of Muggle poet Alexander Pope' (JKR 96). This made me chuckle but was also very interesting because we learned about Pope earlier in the semester. I thought maybe this tale was an allusion to something but I could not think of anything. I'm sure most of the tales are some sort of allusion, but I enjoyed the book none the less.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves Harry Potter and enjoys and simple, yet complex read.

A Raisin in the Sun Responce

I was very excited about the play on Saturday, however, I had some mixed reviews about it. There were pros and cons to the play. I thought the actors were incredible and very accurate. They were true to the characters and were highly believable. I loved the characters of Walter Lee Younger and Beneatha Younger because I felt they were the strongest. Whenever they had a scene together, you really believed it and their relationship pulled you into the story. Their dialogue was very in depth and made the scene more intense and made you understand the stress that this family was going through. I also thought the set was awesome. You definitely got the feeling of a poor apartment in the 50’s and it was aesthetically pleasing.
However, there were some things I did not like about the play. The play itself is very long and there seems to be no plot twist or elevation. It just seems to be there and no movement. It’s almost if all the characters are stagnated. This has nothing to do with the actors; I just think it is the play itself. Maybe the author, Lorraine Hansberry, did this for a reason; to show the problems and obstacles that the African American race faced during the 50’s. The family longed to get ahead; however, they were stuck in their poor apartment and did not know what to do. I also thought the ending showed uncertainty, which is symbolic. You know they moved into the white neighborhood, however, you are unsure of their future. The family is optimistic, yet the audience still does not know what will happen to the family as a whole.
Overall, I think the play was a success in the sense of the actors. I, personally, do not like the play itself but I do think our acting team did a great job of portraying it.

Things Fall Apart Thus Far

Ok I'm sorry, but this book is not going very well with me so far. It just seems like a little kid's bedtime story! The sentences are just so simple and uninteresting. It just seems like all it's saying is 'Okonkwo is this" or "Okonkwo is that". It doesn't seem like there's much depth to it. I feel like i'm reading Pocohantus. After reading such a complicated novel like The Grapes of Wrath or a wordy play like Hamlet, I was caught off-guard by it's dull language.

Ok, ok maybe I'm being a little harsh, but it really is bothering me! And I'm sorry, but I'm really getting sick of reading the same story of tribes/groups being supressed! Sue me! I've heard the same story since I was in elementary school and, yes, I do feel bad for them, but honestly, I'm getting tired of reading it! I was finally relieved when we read Hamlet because at least he wasn't asking for sympathy. That's all I feel like whenever I read these types of books.

Well that was my rampage for this week. Comment if you disagree. Hopefully the book will get better!