Best of the Quarter

My favorite book this quarter was definitely the Book Thief. It was one of the best books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down no matter how hard I tried. It just got me hooked. The story was amazing and the emotion it presented was addicting.

I liked Catcher in the Rye. It was interesting. Holden was definitely one of the coolest characters I have ever read about. You never knew what he was going to do next. There has never been a character like him and will probably never be one.

Persepolis was a new experience for me. I had never read a graphic novel before and I have to say that I enjoyed it. It was cool having pictures to know exactly how the author pictured the situation.

Caucasia was a little different. I didn't particularly enjoy reading it, but I am definitely glad I did. It made me think about race and how it affects us. It may be a slow and boring read, but I would recommend it to anybody who wants to expand there thoughts.

In conclusion I really enjoyed College Literature. It was my favorite English class ever by far. I don't plan on ever taking much english in college but I am glad I took this class to give a look into what it might be like.

To Caucausia and beyond...

This book is taking me forever to read. It just seems like each page takes way longer than it should. I am actually enjoying the story. Everything I have read up to this point is pretty interesting and makes me think about race and discrimination, but I just can't seem to get into it. It is almost like a history textbook. I take in the information and it is interesting, but I don't feel the need to keep reading ever. I just want to put it down and do something else.

Now that I'm done bashing the book I want to actually talk about it a little. I find it really interestion how Birdie/Jesse is stuck in the middle of two worlds. A shining example of how the black and white communities could become one. However, she is an outsider in both communities unless she pretends to be somebody she is not. This shows how the two worlds refuse to accpet anybody who is not exactly like themselves. It really shows how dumb the whole situation is. I believe it has a lesson we should all learn that we are of the same race...humanity. We should put aside our differences and just "be excellent to each other" (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure)

Response to Killing Us Softly 3

Kilbourne is correct that women are depicted as sex objects in advertisements. The companies use the fact that men are obsessed with beautiful women to sell their products. The use of these sexual adds has created a culture in which women have to be ideal and men can simply use them whenever they want. We have all become so used to these adds that we don't consciously notice the messages they portray. But subconsiously they affect the way we think whether we like it or not.

The major problem with this is that these advertisements sell very well. If they weren't successful adds the companies wouldn't use them. The companies are not purposely trying to be subversive to women, but the adds that sell the most happen to be sexualized women. It is the chemistry of most peoples brains that causes them to be attracted to people of the opposite sex. The adds we were raised around caused our minds to develope around the idea that skinny women are attractive, and we can't help the fact that we like sex.

The same goes for women as well. However, since not only the ripped men are advertised women tend to be more open to what they see as "handsome". The fact that we have become idealized in our views of beauty is not the fault of any one person. It is simply the way the advertisements around us every day have forced our brains to develope. I don't know if there is a way to stop sexualized advertisements because there will always be a company that will want to increase sales by using women.

The end of the Book Thief

Holy crap! I really really really ridiculously loved the Book Thief. It was probably one of my favorite books of all time. The ending was extremely sad, but also made me feel a little more enlightened. My favorite part of the book was the contradiction of words. Liesel's life was both destroyed and saved by words. The book exemplifies the power that words can have. Hitler rose to power through the use of words. His speeches forced people to believe in him and submit to him. Because Hitler came to power, Liesel lost everything and everyone in her life. All of that because of words.

However, it was also words that saved Liesel's life. Learning to read gave Liesel a reason to live and a way to forget the past. She was able to focus on the present and future rather than the past. Then at the end of the book, her life is saved because she is reading. If she had not been reading her book in the basement during the bombing she would have died along with the rest of her family. This book really stressed the power of words. That they are so powerful they can both give life and take it away. The Book Thief opened my eyes to a lot of new ideas that had never crossed my mind before. One thing is for certain. I will never be able to look at words the same again.

The Thievery of the Books

I am currently engaged in the reading of The Book Thief. So far I have really enjoyed all of the book. The first couple of pages were extremely difficult to understand. Death kept jumping around telling different random stories of Liesel's life. Finally the story started to become more chronological. There is still a lot of foreshadowing of events to come and references to things that have already occured, but it has become much easier to comprehend. The story is told through Death's eyes which makes it extremely interesting. It is very different for a story of such magnitude to be told from the point of view of a being that doesn't really care. It allows you to think about how the people must be feeling. It allows you to become more engaged in the feelings of the book because they are not simply given to you.

This is also the first WWII novel I have read that shows things from the German's point of view. We tend to think that everybody in Germany was behind Hitler and supported him, but Zusak shows that that was not the case. Germany was not just the rough outer core that we see looking at it. There were real people living real lives trying to survive the horrible conditions that Hitler put in place. It really made me think about how many people didn't want to follow Hitler, but simply submitted to make it easier. I actually had to write a DBQ for the AP Euro exam on the Weimar Republic that was in place before Hitler took over. After studying that era it is very easy to see why people would submit to a strong ruler. They were living in such crappy conditions that any kind of change would have seemed great to them.

Perception of Persepolis

So far I have really enjoyed the Graphic Biography Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It is unlike any book I have ever read. First of all I really love having the panels of illustrations to aid in the reading. I am able to get a much better understanding of what the author is trying to convey because of them. I think that the comics give a greater impact on the reader than words could ever do. Since Persepolis is so different from the culture I am used to, the comics give me a better idea of how life might have been for Marjane. I had also never thought to use comics in a the serious manner that Marjane does. Comics for me had always been Superman or Batman saving the day. After beginnning Persepolis and doing little research I realised that the world of comics is much deeper than cheap jokes and young ladies in distress.

Holden and the Nuns

The scene when Holden meets the Nuns was very interesting to me. It gives me a little better idea of who Holden is. It seems to show a softer side to him. Either he is a super nice guy at heart or he feels bad about things he has done. He really wants to donate money to the Nuns. Even when they ask him several times if he can afford it, he still insists on giving them the $10. Up to this point in the book, I never would have expected Holden to be the donating type. I thought he would have called the Nuns phonies because they pretend to have peoples interests at heart. This scene completely changed my perception of Holden. I began to sympathise with him again.

The end of the scene also led me to believe that Holden definitely suffers from some sort of depression. He says that he was depressed that he couldn't give the nuns more money, but he was also depressed that he might not have enough for his date. He states that all money does is make you blue. I noticed that both sides of the situation made him feel bad. Instead of feeling good that he donated money, he found a way to feel bad about it. He always seems to look at things negatively. No matter how good a situation is, it always depresses him.

The final thing I noticed is when they are talking about Romeo and Juliet he gets really upset with the death of Mercutio. He seems to have a very soft spot for people dying because of other people. I have discovered why that is but I don't want to ruin it for people that haven't got that far yet. That one scene later in the book explained tons of things that I have been wondering about. I will be able to discuss them tomorrow when everybody has finished the book.