Mairian writes:t
I am reading the novel “Madame Bovary” by Gustave Flaubert. So far in the story a man named Charles gets married to a woman who was very controlling and she thought he was cheating on her with someone who lived with one of his clients because he kept going back to his client’s house to visit. Charles’s wife eventually passed away. Once it was appropriate Charles got remarried to Emma, one of his clients daughter (the one he was believed to be cheating with). Emma thought she was in love but she feel that she was fooled and she thinks that it isn’t like she imagined and read about, however Charles is completely in love with her. Emma and Charles get invited to a fancy ball thrown by “le Marquis”. Emma really enjoyed it and she danced with a man who was a good dancer. Emma wanted to continue in that life style but she went back home to her boring life hoping to one day go to another ball. She feels very unsatisfied in life and is almost depressed. Emma doesn’t want to continue living in the small town she lives in and she pretends to be sick and she drinks things to make her loose weight until her husband decides to move because he thinks that the town is making her sick. Once they leave Emma finds out that she is pregnant but she looses her little dog during the journey to their new town. At the new town while Charles was talking to his correspondent, Homais, Emma talks to Homais’s young, boarder, law clerk, Leon. She discovers that he too likes romance novels and they feel very close to each other. Emma hopes that her life here changes for the better and that she will become happy again.
I think that the novel is getting good. It had a slow start but it is starting to get interesting and I’m looking forward to continue reading it. So far I give it about a 6 or 7 but I’m sure it will get more interesting.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Heart of Darkness
Greg writes:
Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, follows the life of a man named Marlow after he is taken from his life in England to be the captain of a ship. However, he soon after learns that this alleged “ferry boat” is really used to transport ivory for a man named Kurtz in the Congo. Throughout the story, Marlow finds himself growing to love the water more and more, considering it far more omnipresent and boundless than the land, which, in Africa, is usually riddled with plague and disease.
I like this novel because of how it so literally incorporated the title into the story, often showing dark scenes, using night, and contrasting light as a metaphor for good vs. evil, which is time and again shown when dealing with the natures of Marlow and the wicked Kurtz. Another recurring theme in the novel are the characters’ finding themselves speechless, and unable to articulate their thoughts at key times. This usually happens at very important times in the novel, meaning that the events and sights may well have rendered them speechless, or may well have been too awe-inspiring to have words fully describe them. I particularly liked this aspect of the novel because I relate to it quite nicely. I am, at times, at a loss for words when even trying to describe the simplest of feelings, and in that, I can relate to the novel at those times.
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness was a realistic fiction, yet it was heavier in metaphors and symbolism than any reality possibly could be. That’s not to say it’s inferior to today’s novels. It is simply different. It pioneered the modern era’s sense of symbolism. Overall, I rate this book a 5.5-6/10. I absolutely loved the figurative language Conrad used in the novel, however, it was a bit erratic at times, drawing lines between good and evil in the most obscure places.
Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, follows the life of a man named Marlow after he is taken from his life in England to be the captain of a ship. However, he soon after learns that this alleged “ferry boat” is really used to transport ivory for a man named Kurtz in the Congo. Throughout the story, Marlow finds himself growing to love the water more and more, considering it far more omnipresent and boundless than the land, which, in Africa, is usually riddled with plague and disease.
I like this novel because of how it so literally incorporated the title into the story, often showing dark scenes, using night, and contrasting light as a metaphor for good vs. evil, which is time and again shown when dealing with the natures of Marlow and the wicked Kurtz. Another recurring theme in the novel are the characters’ finding themselves speechless, and unable to articulate their thoughts at key times. This usually happens at very important times in the novel, meaning that the events and sights may well have rendered them speechless, or may well have been too awe-inspiring to have words fully describe them. I particularly liked this aspect of the novel because I relate to it quite nicely. I am, at times, at a loss for words when even trying to describe the simplest of feelings, and in that, I can relate to the novel at those times.
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness was a realistic fiction, yet it was heavier in metaphors and symbolism than any reality possibly could be. That’s not to say it’s inferior to today’s novels. It is simply different. It pioneered the modern era’s sense of symbolism. Overall, I rate this book a 5.5-6/10. I absolutely loved the figurative language Conrad used in the novel, however, it was a bit erratic at times, drawing lines between good and evil in the most obscure places.
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut'
Nick writes:
Of the two I have read, I certainly would say that Cat's Cradle
is the better classic novel. Jude the Obscure was good, but I
think Kurt Vonnegut's writing style suits me more. I'm more than
half way done with the novel Cat's Cradle and considering the
fact that I actually enjoy reading this one a lot, I think I may
finish it in the near future. Basically this book is a story of a
man who finds his story while trying to tell another man's story.
The main characters life is explained, but not told. Really the
reader learns about how he lives and what effects his decisions
rather than what events took place in his life. The Book also
revolves mainly on the ideas of Bokonism. I imagine this is a
made up religion for this book, but as you read on you learn more
and more about this crazy religion. I now know that there's an
island, San Lorenzo. On San Lorenzo Bokonism is illegal. The
reason it's illegal is because the person who created the
religion made it illegal, and made himself a convict by doing so.
It appears to make no sense but I believe he did it so that only
his true followers stay with him. The crazy thing is that almost
everyone on the island is a Bokonist. It's really odd, but the
punishment for practicing the beliefs is to get "The Hook"
basically a form of hanging execution. I'm not sure exactly what
"the Hook" is but I'm positive it's brutal and keeps everyone in
fear. Another thing I have come to realize as I read is that in
this novel you have to pay attention to the development of ideas
a lot more than the characters. I'm amazed at how little the
characters actually matter in this story. Normally if I like a
book this much then I am crushed to see a character killed or
dying or dead. In this particular novel I think I would easily
come to grips with the death of any character if it would
contribute to the development of the conceptual part of the
story. Kurt Vonegut has a unique writing style, and it definitely
fits me. Yet another thing I love about this book is that it's
split into 127 small chapters with interesting names that make
reading a bit more fun. Some examples are chapter 19 "No more
mud" chapter 23 "The Last Batch of Brownies" and chapter 80 "The
Waterfall Strainer". I really like this novel, and I'm glad I
got it, it's a good read and puts an interesting twist on what I
usually read.
Of the two I have read, I certainly would say that Cat's Cradle
is the better classic novel. Jude the Obscure was good, but I
think Kurt Vonnegut's writing style suits me more. I'm more than
half way done with the novel Cat's Cradle and considering the
fact that I actually enjoy reading this one a lot, I think I may
finish it in the near future. Basically this book is a story of a
man who finds his story while trying to tell another man's story.
The main characters life is explained, but not told. Really the
reader learns about how he lives and what effects his decisions
rather than what events took place in his life. The Book also
revolves mainly on the ideas of Bokonism. I imagine this is a
made up religion for this book, but as you read on you learn more
and more about this crazy religion. I now know that there's an
island, San Lorenzo. On San Lorenzo Bokonism is illegal. The
reason it's illegal is because the person who created the
religion made it illegal, and made himself a convict by doing so.
It appears to make no sense but I believe he did it so that only
his true followers stay with him. The crazy thing is that almost
everyone on the island is a Bokonist. It's really odd, but the
punishment for practicing the beliefs is to get "The Hook"
basically a form of hanging execution. I'm not sure exactly what
"the Hook" is but I'm positive it's brutal and keeps everyone in
fear. Another thing I have come to realize as I read is that in
this novel you have to pay attention to the development of ideas
a lot more than the characters. I'm amazed at how little the
characters actually matter in this story. Normally if I like a
book this much then I am crushed to see a character killed or
dying or dead. In this particular novel I think I would easily
come to grips with the death of any character if it would
contribute to the development of the conceptual part of the
story. Kurt Vonegut has a unique writing style, and it definitely
fits me. Yet another thing I love about this book is that it's
split into 127 small chapters with interesting names that make
reading a bit more fun. Some examples are chapter 19 "No more
mud" chapter 23 "The Last Batch of Brownies" and chapter 80 "The
Waterfall Strainer". I really like this novel, and I'm glad I
got it, it's a good read and puts an interesting twist on what I
usually read.
The Mill On The Floss
Kayla writes:
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot has a rather boring beginning. I still need incouragement to keep reading because it does not seem like there is a point to the story. Young Maggie Tulliver is in need of love and affection from her family, mainly her older brother Tom. She does not let her mother curl her unruly black hair like all the other girls, and she does not even try to keep clean. What people around her do not realize is that she is very smart, and reads books that girls do not normally read. Maggie runs away to live with the gypsies but eventually gets sick of their food and way of living and goes home. Tom never appreciated Maggie until he attended private schooling. He was the only one in his class and his teacher was not impressed at all with his learning skills. He began to miss Maggie and when she came to visit him she offered to help him learn. The teacher is impressed with her skills but says wome n only have "superficial cleverness". Tom is relieved to go home at christmas for the half year.
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot has a rather boring beginning. I still need incouragement to keep reading because it does not seem like there is a point to the story. Young Maggie Tulliver is in need of love and affection from her family, mainly her older brother Tom. She does not let her mother curl her unruly black hair like all the other girls, and she does not even try to keep clean. What people around her do not realize is that she is very smart, and reads books that girls do not normally read. Maggie runs away to live with the gypsies but eventually gets sick of their food and way of living and goes home. Tom never appreciated Maggie until he attended private schooling. He was the only one in his class and his teacher was not impressed at all with his learning skills. He began to miss Maggie and when she came to visit him she offered to help him learn. The teacher is impressed with her skills but says wome n only have "superficial cleverness". Tom is relieved to go home at christmas for the half year.
Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Parisa writes:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is one of the best books I’ve read in the last year, because of its constant suspense and gripping plot. The novel is about Edmond Dantès, in 1400’s France, about to marry the girl he loves and become captain of a ship, and on the day of his wedding he is suddenly arrested and thrown in jail for the next fourteen years. During his time in the dungeons of Le Château d’If, Edmond undergoes a serious change, much like the change Spiderman or Batman go through. Before his period of confinement he is a respected young and successful man, if a bit trusting. He is the second mate on a ship full of officers all older than him, and he is a very skilled seaman, someone with a lot of potential in life. But because of this he has enemies: the treacherous M. Danglars, a shipmate and officer under Edmond, and the jealous Fernando Catalan, who is in love with Edmond’s fiancé, and Caderousse, a mercenary social climber. In jail Edmond changes completely and readers see exactly how mentally strong Edmond really is. He has a good friend in the cell next to his who tells him about a secret treasure on the island of Monte Cristo.
In one great scene, Edmond takes the place of a dead man in a shroud which is carried out of the dungeon and to the “graveyard”. The “graveyard” turns out to be a cliff overlooking the ocean, and Edmond discovers this rather suddenly when the guards tie a cannonball to his feet and hurl his shrouded body off the cliff. He screams. Equipped with a homemade knife, Edmond manages to cut himself free just as he is about to drown. He surfaces and looks up at the cliff to see the figures leaning over the edge, searching for the source of the cry. This scene is an example of the type of action and suspense combined with humor, with which the novel is packed from cover to cover.
I very strongly recommend this novel to all those who like thrilling escapes from death, a complex plot, and a handsome, compelling Robin Hood type character. I give The Count of Monte Cristo a hundred out of ten.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is one of the best books I’ve read in the last year, because of its constant suspense and gripping plot. The novel is about Edmond Dantès, in 1400’s France, about to marry the girl he loves and become captain of a ship, and on the day of his wedding he is suddenly arrested and thrown in jail for the next fourteen years. During his time in the dungeons of Le Château d’If, Edmond undergoes a serious change, much like the change Spiderman or Batman go through. Before his period of confinement he is a respected young and successful man, if a bit trusting. He is the second mate on a ship full of officers all older than him, and he is a very skilled seaman, someone with a lot of potential in life. But because of this he has enemies: the treacherous M. Danglars, a shipmate and officer under Edmond, and the jealous Fernando Catalan, who is in love with Edmond’s fiancé, and Caderousse, a mercenary social climber. In jail Edmond changes completely and readers see exactly how mentally strong Edmond really is. He has a good friend in the cell next to his who tells him about a secret treasure on the island of Monte Cristo.
In one great scene, Edmond takes the place of a dead man in a shroud which is carried out of the dungeon and to the “graveyard”. The “graveyard” turns out to be a cliff overlooking the ocean, and Edmond discovers this rather suddenly when the guards tie a cannonball to his feet and hurl his shrouded body off the cliff. He screams. Equipped with a homemade knife, Edmond manages to cut himself free just as he is about to drown. He surfaces and looks up at the cliff to see the figures leaning over the edge, searching for the source of the cry. This scene is an example of the type of action and suspense combined with humor, with which the novel is packed from cover to cover.
I very strongly recommend this novel to all those who like thrilling escapes from death, a complex plot, and a handsome, compelling Robin Hood type character. I give The Count of Monte Cristo a hundred out of ten.
Far From the Madding Crowd”
Talia writes:
A lot has happened in my book “Far From the Madding Crowd” since my last blog entry. He was recently trying to win over Bathsheba’s heart, but she wouldn’t have him. Now he learns that she has left the area and gone to a place called Weatherbury; without even telling him. He misses her and fells like he is more in love with her now that she has left. I can already tell that this part in the story is foreshadowing that Gabriel will meet Bathsheba again soon.
On Gabriel’s farm, he has two sheepdogs that are still learning how to herd and aren’t making work much easier on the farm for Gabriel. During one night, Gabriel gets woken up by sheep bells and comes outside to see that the dog had chased all the sheep of the edge into a pit. Most of the sheep are dying and some lay there already dead. Now that Gabriel has no sheep he can no longer farm or make any money. The farm had been his only life, and without it he has nothing. He becomes very frustrated and decides to shoot both the dogs. In the end he is happy that he did not marry Bathsheba though, because he had promised her a great life full of many things and ended up with nothing.
A lot has happened in my book “Far From the Madding Crowd” since my last blog entry. He was recently trying to win over Bathsheba’s heart, but she wouldn’t have him. Now he learns that she has left the area and gone to a place called Weatherbury; without even telling him. He misses her and fells like he is more in love with her now that she has left. I can already tell that this part in the story is foreshadowing that Gabriel will meet Bathsheba again soon.
On Gabriel’s farm, he has two sheepdogs that are still learning how to herd and aren’t making work much easier on the farm for Gabriel. During one night, Gabriel gets woken up by sheep bells and comes outside to see that the dog had chased all the sheep of the edge into a pit. Most of the sheep are dying and some lay there already dead. Now that Gabriel has no sheep he can no longer farm or make any money. The farm had been his only life, and without it he has nothing. He becomes very frustrated and decides to shoot both the dogs. In the end he is happy that he did not marry Bathsheba though, because he had promised her a great life full of many things and ended up with nothing.
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Golshan writes:
I am reading the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. This novel starts off by having a character interview people in Starkfield about Ethan Frome. To this character, it seems like Ethan has a big secret. Right before he finds out what the secret is chapter one starts. Ethan is waiting for Mattie, his wife's cousin (who he has a crush on). When the dance she was at ended, they walk home together and discuss her job. Mattie works for Ethan and Zeena as a housekeeper. Zeena (his wife) is jealous and wants to fire Mattie, but she needs someone to help out around the house. She is always sick and can't do much most of the time. Ethan goes out to get wood and thinks about Mattie and Zeena. When he gets back, he finds out that Zeena is going to the doctor for a few days and he will be alone with Mattie. He has some flashbacks of when he met Zeena. Ethan's father had died in an accident and his mother was very ill and quiet most of the time. Zeena helped him take care of his mother and talked to him when there was no one else around. This is how they had met and they got married later. This is as far as I have read. I like this novel because it has an interesting plot and the characters are well developed. The only thing I did not like was how the author used too many details. She explained the scenery and setting too much. Also, she used a lot of pages to make one point. So far I would give this novel a 7 because of this.
-Golshan
I am reading the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. This novel starts off by having a character interview people in Starkfield about Ethan Frome. To this character, it seems like Ethan has a big secret. Right before he finds out what the secret is chapter one starts. Ethan is waiting for Mattie, his wife's cousin (who he has a crush on). When the dance she was at ended, they walk home together and discuss her job. Mattie works for Ethan and Zeena as a housekeeper. Zeena (his wife) is jealous and wants to fire Mattie, but she needs someone to help out around the house. She is always sick and can't do much most of the time. Ethan goes out to get wood and thinks about Mattie and Zeena. When he gets back, he finds out that Zeena is going to the doctor for a few days and he will be alone with Mattie. He has some flashbacks of when he met Zeena. Ethan's father had died in an accident and his mother was very ill and quiet most of the time. Zeena helped him take care of his mother and talked to him when there was no one else around. This is how they had met and they got married later. This is as far as I have read. I like this novel because it has an interesting plot and the characters are well developed. The only thing I did not like was how the author used too many details. She explained the scenery and setting too much. Also, she used a lot of pages to make one point. So far I would give this novel a 7 because of this.
-Golshan
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Sasha writes:
So far, I have found Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy to be rather dry. The writing is beautiful, Hardy’s prose is elegant and well crafted, but the plot is slow and the characters not easy to relate to.
The novel is the story of Jude, a young man living in the countryside of a fictional place called Wessex. Jude lives in a small town with his aunt, but is quite bright and dreams of going to the nearby city of Christminster to go to school.
The majority of the first part of the book is a description of the town Jude grows up in and the books he reads growing up.
Then he gets a job in a nearby town, and moves there. He walks back and forth between the new town and the town he grew up in often in order to visit his aunt.
One day during his commute he meets a girl named Arabella and they begin a courtship and get married. When this happens, Jude gives up his dream of becoming a scholar and settles down with Arabella.
So far, I am finding there to be very little about the novel that inspires me to continue reading. There is very little action, and what action there is, is slow and drawn out. I do not find that the characters easy to like or even really easy to feel anything for and that is making it very hard to become engaged in the novel.
I think that it is going to be a challenge to finish this novel before the school year ends. I would not recommend it unless you happen to like novels that move slowly but offer very detailed description of scenery.
So far, I have found Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy to be rather dry. The writing is beautiful, Hardy’s prose is elegant and well crafted, but the plot is slow and the characters not easy to relate to.
The novel is the story of Jude, a young man living in the countryside of a fictional place called Wessex. Jude lives in a small town with his aunt, but is quite bright and dreams of going to the nearby city of Christminster to go to school.
The majority of the first part of the book is a description of the town Jude grows up in and the books he reads growing up.
Then he gets a job in a nearby town, and moves there. He walks back and forth between the new town and the town he grew up in often in order to visit his aunt.
One day during his commute he meets a girl named Arabella and they begin a courtship and get married. When this happens, Jude gives up his dream of becoming a scholar and settles down with Arabella.
So far, I am finding there to be very little about the novel that inspires me to continue reading. There is very little action, and what action there is, is slow and drawn out. I do not find that the characters easy to like or even really easy to feel anything for and that is making it very hard to become engaged in the novel.
I think that it is going to be a challenge to finish this novel before the school year ends. I would not recommend it unless you happen to like novels that move slowly but offer very detailed description of scenery.
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
Erika writes:
I have been reading the novel A Room with a View by E.M. Forster. The novel began with a young woman named Lucy staying in London. With Charlotte who was to watch over Lucy and make sure she has a good time. This is because she told Lucy’s mother that she would do her this favor. Unfortunately when they get there they are given two rooms without a view and they were supposed to get one with a view. So they were upset about this. Then two gentlemen named Mr. Emerson and his son George Emerson offer there rooms up because they say that they are guys and that they don’t care if they have a view or not. Charlotte does not want to take them but after they keep insisting and Lucy asking her to say yes she gives in. The reason why she did not want to take the rooms is because she did not want to feel implied to give something back to them. Lucy is basically told to keep away from George though because Charlotte is afraid he might want something form Lucy.
~One day when Lucy gets separated from the group she was with she witnesses a murder. Seeing a man gets stabbed she faints. She wakes up in George Emerson’s arms. He then insists to walk her home and she tells him not to say anything about what happened since she is not supposed to be with him. (He agrees to this). A while later a group of people are going on a trip in carriages Lucy and Charlotte get invited. They do go on the carriage ride through London and when they stop Lucy gets out and wonders off she finds herself in a field and then sees George Emerson, they kiss… Charlotte sees this occur and tells her to say nothing about it. Charlotte now wants to leave for Rome. Since they both have friends that are there right now along with because she does not want Lucy to get any closer with George Emerson who she may be starting to like.
I have been reading the novel A Room with a View by E.M. Forster. The novel began with a young woman named Lucy staying in London. With Charlotte who was to watch over Lucy and make sure she has a good time. This is because she told Lucy’s mother that she would do her this favor. Unfortunately when they get there they are given two rooms without a view and they were supposed to get one with a view. So they were upset about this. Then two gentlemen named Mr. Emerson and his son George Emerson offer there rooms up because they say that they are guys and that they don’t care if they have a view or not. Charlotte does not want to take them but after they keep insisting and Lucy asking her to say yes she gives in. The reason why she did not want to take the rooms is because she did not want to feel implied to give something back to them. Lucy is basically told to keep away from George though because Charlotte is afraid he might want something form Lucy.
~One day when Lucy gets separated from the group she was with she witnesses a murder. Seeing a man gets stabbed she faints. She wakes up in George Emerson’s arms. He then insists to walk her home and she tells him not to say anything about what happened since she is not supposed to be with him. (He agrees to this). A while later a group of people are going on a trip in carriages Lucy and Charlotte get invited. They do go on the carriage ride through London and when they stop Lucy gets out and wonders off she finds herself in a field and then sees George Emerson, they kiss… Charlotte sees this occur and tells her to say nothing about it. Charlotte now wants to leave for Rome. Since they both have friends that are there right now along with because she does not want Lucy to get any closer with George Emerson who she may be starting to like.
Wuthering Heights
Kristina writes:
The story Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is a complicated, and somewhat
intense kind of love story. With the love also comes hate and sadness, as in most
love stories. The story is told as a flashback that Nelly tells Lockwood. The story is
about Heathcliff and Catherine's love for each other. They were young lovers who
were some torn apart by Catherine's brother Hindley Earnshaw. Hindley hates
Heathcliff and makes him the servant of the house when Hindley and Catherine's
father dies. Catherine still loves him and they sneak of together to the Linton's
house. The Linton's realize someone is outside and they let the dogs loose.
Heathcliff gets away but Catherine gets bit and the Linton's insist she stay at their
house. When Catherine is here the Linton's change her by making her more
feminine. When Catherine returns she and Heathcliff have an awkward relationship
due to her change. Soon enough the Linton's son, Edgar, and Catherine get
married. Heathcliff gets angry and runs away. When he comes back years later he is
a changed man. He and Catherine bond like old times. Linton's sister, Isabella falls
in love with Heathcliff and he takes advantage of it. Edgar and Linton get into a
fight, which literally breaks Catherine's heart. While pregnant Catherine gets almost
deathly ill. I'm not going to give away the whole story but it is very complex and has
a lot of detail. The language is difficult to understand, but it well worth it.
The story Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is a complicated, and somewhat
intense kind of love story. With the love also comes hate and sadness, as in most
love stories. The story is told as a flashback that Nelly tells Lockwood. The story is
about Heathcliff and Catherine's love for each other. They were young lovers who
were some torn apart by Catherine's brother Hindley Earnshaw. Hindley hates
Heathcliff and makes him the servant of the house when Hindley and Catherine's
father dies. Catherine still loves him and they sneak of together to the Linton's
house. The Linton's realize someone is outside and they let the dogs loose.
Heathcliff gets away but Catherine gets bit and the Linton's insist she stay at their
house. When Catherine is here the Linton's change her by making her more
feminine. When Catherine returns she and Heathcliff have an awkward relationship
due to her change. Soon enough the Linton's son, Edgar, and Catherine get
married. Heathcliff gets angry and runs away. When he comes back years later he is
a changed man. He and Catherine bond like old times. Linton's sister, Isabella falls
in love with Heathcliff and he takes advantage of it. Edgar and Linton get into a
fight, which literally breaks Catherine's heart. While pregnant Catherine gets almost
deathly ill. I'm not going to give away the whole story but it is very complex and has
a lot of detail. The language is difficult to understand, but it well worth it.
Dubliners by James Joyce
Meaghan writes:
Just recently, I finished Dubliners, by James Joyce for my last reading classic book. It consists of fifteen short stories, all about different topics. I have never read anything else by James Joyce, but Dubliners was a very good read. Some of the sentences were choppy, but it all evened out in the long run.
My favorite short story was called The Sisters. When I begun Dubliners, it was my favorite short story. Now, finished with the book, it still is my favorite story. It is about a young boy who reflects about the death of his friend Father Flynn. The young boy continuously walks by Father Flynn’s house, knowing he is dead. Each time there is a different sign outside of his house. The first day there were two candles lit up on opposite sides of the house. The next day, there were flowers outside. That evening, the boy prays by the coffin with Father Flynn’s sister Nannie. The Sisters has a very unique ending, you will have to read the short story book to find out! This book creates real images in my head while reading, which makes it my favorite short story. The other stories do not have this quality.
The climax arises quickly in short stories like these, but it makes it more interesting. Some stories were very boring, and others held my interest very well.
In conclusion, I would rate Dubliners by James Joyce a seven out of ten. Not all stories were great, and not all of them kept my interest. I am looking forward to reading better books by the end of the school year and throughout the summer that hold my interest better.
Just recently, I finished Dubliners, by James Joyce for my last reading classic book. It consists of fifteen short stories, all about different topics. I have never read anything else by James Joyce, but Dubliners was a very good read. Some of the sentences were choppy, but it all evened out in the long run.
My favorite short story was called The Sisters. When I begun Dubliners, it was my favorite short story. Now, finished with the book, it still is my favorite story. It is about a young boy who reflects about the death of his friend Father Flynn. The young boy continuously walks by Father Flynn’s house, knowing he is dead. Each time there is a different sign outside of his house. The first day there were two candles lit up on opposite sides of the house. The next day, there were flowers outside. That evening, the boy prays by the coffin with Father Flynn’s sister Nannie. The Sisters has a very unique ending, you will have to read the short story book to find out! This book creates real images in my head while reading, which makes it my favorite short story. The other stories do not have this quality.
The climax arises quickly in short stories like these, but it makes it more interesting. Some stories were very boring, and others held my interest very well.
In conclusion, I would rate Dubliners by James Joyce a seven out of ten. Not all stories were great, and not all of them kept my interest. I am looking forward to reading better books by the end of the school year and throughout the summer that hold my interest better.
Tobias Wolff
While growing up as a 12 year old boy just before his teenage years, Tobias Wolff is going through tough times since he has no father in his parents divorce and now he has to live with just his poor mother and take care of her the best he can. As a result of not having a normal life family wise, he tends to do things that others in his situation might have been taught properly not to do. You will find him and his friends going around egging nice cars, making cars roll down hills smashing into other cars, vandalizing bathrooms, and using his rifle that his mother told him not to use while she is away.
In addition to his hard times, Tobias and his mother, Rosemary move to a small town in Washington to live with his step-father and his three kids who are all in their late teens. If moving and leaving his friends wasn’t bad enough, Tobias’ step-father is abusive towards him. He controls what Toby is doing at all times and to keep him busy at all times, he makes him crack nuts and put them in a bowl for others to at. He would make him do this for hours and hours at a time every day. This must be hard for Tobias to get used to because all his life, while his mother was away at work, Toby would have all the freedom he wanted, and now that someone is bossing him around, in a matter of a few days, his life changes forever. Even when he does have some free time, there is not much to do since the other kids around him were at least 6 years older than him and would rather not hang out with him even though once in a while they have a game of monopoly.
Since Tobias is not one who is used to being told what to do, he has control of what he wants to do with the rest of his life which includes possibly running away and starting over on his own.
In addition to his hard times, Tobias and his mother, Rosemary move to a small town in Washington to live with his step-father and his three kids who are all in their late teens. If moving and leaving his friends wasn’t bad enough, Tobias’ step-father is abusive towards him. He controls what Toby is doing at all times and to keep him busy at all times, he makes him crack nuts and put them in a bowl for others to at. He would make him do this for hours and hours at a time every day. This must be hard for Tobias to get used to because all his life, while his mother was away at work, Toby would have all the freedom he wanted, and now that someone is bossing him around, in a matter of a few days, his life changes forever. Even when he does have some free time, there is not much to do since the other kids around him were at least 6 years older than him and would rather not hang out with him even though once in a while they have a game of monopoly.
Since Tobias is not one who is used to being told what to do, he has control of what he wants to do with the rest of his life which includes possibly running away and starting over on his own.
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
Maeve writes:
I am about halfway through Dracula, by Bram Stoker, and I am enjoying it immensely!
Since my last blog entry, the novel has gone through several different forms of narration. We leave Jonathan on the eve of his escape and move instead to a series of letters written between his fiancée, Mina Murray, and her best friend Lucy Westerna. The letters are, at the beginning, a bit tedious, as all the ladies are talking about are Lucy’s suitors and her fiancé, a rich, good-natured young man named Arthur Holmwood. Arthur is a friend of Lucy’s other two suitors, an ambitious doctor named John Steward who works at a mental hospital, and Quincey Morris, a Texan (of all things) who is fond of using, as Lucy puts it, “slang.” The men are quite civil to each other, and do not begrudge Arthur for winning Lucy’s hand.
The book gets more interesting as we move away from the letters between Mina and Lucy and back into journal entries, but not those written by Jonathan. The next journal entries to come are those written by Mr. John Steward. These entries detail the eccentric behavior of one of Steward’s more unhinged patients, who is simply known as Renfield. He has very strange habits, as we learn from Steward’s journal. Renfield keeps a succession of pets, all of which mysteriously disappear, to be replaced by bigger animals. Steward eventually finds out why they have been disappearing – Renfield, for some unknown reason, has been eating them. There is some method to his madness, but Steward has yet to figure out what it is.
Interspersed with Steward’s journal entries are those written by Mina. She has gone to the coast with Lucy to celebrate Lucy’s engagement. It is deeply beautiful there, and she is glad to be staying with Lucy, Arthur, and Lucy’s mother, but she is troubled and worries constantly about Jonathan, as she hasn’t heard from him in a very long time. Mina and Lucy spend lots of time together, most of it sitting in the graveyard of the old abbey, which overlooks the sea. Mina writes that she is also troubled about Lucy, as she seems to be acting not quite like herself, and has begun sleepwalking again, something she hasn’t done in a long time.
In the meantime, a terrible storm is brewed up, and a ship becomes wrecked on the shore of the town where they are staying. No one is left alive, but Mina is allowed to look at the captain’s logbook, which was found on the wreck. The book details the strange events that happened before the storm. Unrest began to grow in the crew, and the men whispered of something that lurked on the ship. Men began to disappear at night, and eventually only the captain was left. The log ends with him seeing the “monster” and vowing to go down with his ship, as there was no conceivable way for him to remain among the living. I can only conclude that the monster on the ship was Dracula, come to find Jonathan. What a strange fate that he should end up where Mina is staying.
As Mina’s journal entries progress, she writes that Lucy has been growing more and more troubled in her sleep. She then writes of a terrible fright she has one night when she wakes up and sees that Lucy is nowhere to be found. She runs to the churchyard and finds Lucy asleep on the bench they always sit on, with a dark shape bending over her. She shouts out, and Lucy wakes up. The shape disappears. Mina takes Lucy home and tucks her in. She sees two perfect, round puncture marks on Lucy’s neck, and thinks they are from her accidentally sticking Lucy’s neck with a pin (but we all know what they really are!). Over the next little while, Lucy’s health fluctuates from high to low. One day she seems to be fine, the next she is pale and weak. Mina thinks this is because she is sleeping with the window, as she sees Lucy sitting with her head out of the window on several occasions, and thinks she sees a large black bat on one of these (Dracula, I think).
In the world of John Steward, Renfield has moved on from eating animals to religious mania. All he can talk about is the “master coming.” All of this culminates with him breaking out of the asylum. Steward chases him and finds him at the church nearby, leaning on the door and speaking to someone Steward cannot see about his unending allegiance. After he is subdued and taken back to the asylum, he is locked up and straight-jacketed. I think that whatever Renfield’s mania is, it doesn’t have anything to do with God. He’s somehow being influenced by Dracula.
I can’t wait to see what happens next! There are so many loose ends to tie up, and I’m very curious to see how all of these characters eventually fit into Harker’s story.
I am about halfway through Dracula, by Bram Stoker, and I am enjoying it immensely!
Since my last blog entry, the novel has gone through several different forms of narration. We leave Jonathan on the eve of his escape and move instead to a series of letters written between his fiancée, Mina Murray, and her best friend Lucy Westerna. The letters are, at the beginning, a bit tedious, as all the ladies are talking about are Lucy’s suitors and her fiancé, a rich, good-natured young man named Arthur Holmwood. Arthur is a friend of Lucy’s other two suitors, an ambitious doctor named John Steward who works at a mental hospital, and Quincey Morris, a Texan (of all things) who is fond of using, as Lucy puts it, “slang.” The men are quite civil to each other, and do not begrudge Arthur for winning Lucy’s hand.
The book gets more interesting as we move away from the letters between Mina and Lucy and back into journal entries, but not those written by Jonathan. The next journal entries to come are those written by Mr. John Steward. These entries detail the eccentric behavior of one of Steward’s more unhinged patients, who is simply known as Renfield. He has very strange habits, as we learn from Steward’s journal. Renfield keeps a succession of pets, all of which mysteriously disappear, to be replaced by bigger animals. Steward eventually finds out why they have been disappearing – Renfield, for some unknown reason, has been eating them. There is some method to his madness, but Steward has yet to figure out what it is.
Interspersed with Steward’s journal entries are those written by Mina. She has gone to the coast with Lucy to celebrate Lucy’s engagement. It is deeply beautiful there, and she is glad to be staying with Lucy, Arthur, and Lucy’s mother, but she is troubled and worries constantly about Jonathan, as she hasn’t heard from him in a very long time. Mina and Lucy spend lots of time together, most of it sitting in the graveyard of the old abbey, which overlooks the sea. Mina writes that she is also troubled about Lucy, as she seems to be acting not quite like herself, and has begun sleepwalking again, something she hasn’t done in a long time.
In the meantime, a terrible storm is brewed up, and a ship becomes wrecked on the shore of the town where they are staying. No one is left alive, but Mina is allowed to look at the captain’s logbook, which was found on the wreck. The book details the strange events that happened before the storm. Unrest began to grow in the crew, and the men whispered of something that lurked on the ship. Men began to disappear at night, and eventually only the captain was left. The log ends with him seeing the “monster” and vowing to go down with his ship, as there was no conceivable way for him to remain among the living. I can only conclude that the monster on the ship was Dracula, come to find Jonathan. What a strange fate that he should end up where Mina is staying.
As Mina’s journal entries progress, she writes that Lucy has been growing more and more troubled in her sleep. She then writes of a terrible fright she has one night when she wakes up and sees that Lucy is nowhere to be found. She runs to the churchyard and finds Lucy asleep on the bench they always sit on, with a dark shape bending over her. She shouts out, and Lucy wakes up. The shape disappears. Mina takes Lucy home and tucks her in. She sees two perfect, round puncture marks on Lucy’s neck, and thinks they are from her accidentally sticking Lucy’s neck with a pin (but we all know what they really are!). Over the next little while, Lucy’s health fluctuates from high to low. One day she seems to be fine, the next she is pale and weak. Mina thinks this is because she is sleeping with the window, as she sees Lucy sitting with her head out of the window on several occasions, and thinks she sees a large black bat on one of these (Dracula, I think).
In the world of John Steward, Renfield has moved on from eating animals to religious mania. All he can talk about is the “master coming.” All of this culminates with him breaking out of the asylum. Steward chases him and finds him at the church nearby, leaning on the door and speaking to someone Steward cannot see about his unending allegiance. After he is subdued and taken back to the asylum, he is locked up and straight-jacketed. I think that whatever Renfield’s mania is, it doesn’t have anything to do with God. He’s somehow being influenced by Dracula.
I can’t wait to see what happens next! There are so many loose ends to tie up, and I’m very curious to see how all of these characters eventually fit into Harker’s story.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Dubliners
Meaghan writes:
For my independent classic reading book this last quarter, I chose to read Dubliners, by James Joyce. James Joyce was an Irish novelist, who was born in Dublin on February 2, 1882. Both of his parents studied literature when James was growing up. Joyce expressed his great use of language in Ulysses (1922) and Finnegan’s Wake (1939). Throughout writing all three novels, he expressed his great use of allusions, word play, history, and puns. He published Dubliners in 1914 right after attending Belvedere College in Dublin. James Joyce died on January 14, 1941.
The novel, Dubliners, consists of fourteen short stories, with the addition of an introduction and a preface. This book is very unique, and so far has kept my interest. I am not too far in the book now, I am about to start my fourth short story. The climax comes quick in the short stories, and at the end of each one, I am constantly finding myself wanting to read more. Like I said, Dubliners is a very unique selection consisting of short stories. I have never read anything like any one of the stories. There are loads of characters for every short story. For example, in my favorite so far called The Sisters, I was introduced to Nannie, Eliza, Father O’Rourke, Miss Flynn, Auntie, and Rev. James Flynn. It is hard to keep track of what each character does, but at the end they all come to a conclusion.
I am looking forward to continue reading Dubliners. It will be interesting to see if my personal favorite short story The Sisters will fluctuate and possibly I might have a new favorite short story once I am finished.
Source: http://www.online-literature.com/james_joyce/
For my independent classic reading book this last quarter, I chose to read Dubliners, by James Joyce. James Joyce was an Irish novelist, who was born in Dublin on February 2, 1882. Both of his parents studied literature when James was growing up. Joyce expressed his great use of language in Ulysses (1922) and Finnegan’s Wake (1939). Throughout writing all three novels, he expressed his great use of allusions, word play, history, and puns. He published Dubliners in 1914 right after attending Belvedere College in Dublin. James Joyce died on January 14, 1941.
The novel, Dubliners, consists of fourteen short stories, with the addition of an introduction and a preface. This book is very unique, and so far has kept my interest. I am not too far in the book now, I am about to start my fourth short story. The climax comes quick in the short stories, and at the end of each one, I am constantly finding myself wanting to read more. Like I said, Dubliners is a very unique selection consisting of short stories. I have never read anything like any one of the stories. There are loads of characters for every short story. For example, in my favorite so far called The Sisters, I was introduced to Nannie, Eliza, Father O’Rourke, Miss Flynn, Auntie, and Rev. James Flynn. It is hard to keep track of what each character does, but at the end they all come to a conclusion.
I am looking forward to continue reading Dubliners. It will be interesting to see if my personal favorite short story The Sisters will fluctuate and possibly I might have a new favorite short story once I am finished.
Source: http://www.online-literature.com/james_joyce/
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Dracula, by Bram Stoker.
Maeve writes:
For my independent reading book this quarter, I am reading Dracula, by Bram Stoker. I am enjoying it immensely. I am not very far into the book yet, but I hope to progress much further in the next weeks.
The novel so far has been narrated by the main character, Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, in the form of his journal. The story begins with Harker’s traveling to Transylvania, where he plans to meet with the count, Dracula, who owns a large castle there and presides over the surrounding land. Harker meets very peculiar behavior when he tells the locals where he is going. They keep crossing their chest and making a sign to ward off the evil eye. He can make neither heads nor tails of this strange behavior, but accepts a rosary with a cross from the woman who owns the inn where he is staying. He thinks nothing of it at the time, but is later very glad to have it. After a terrifying carriage ride involving wolves and strange blue fires in the night, he arrives at the Count’s castle. Dracula has all the makings of your classic vampire. Red lips with protruding fangs, pale skin – the whole shebang. At the time, Harker thinks this is just peculiar and rather likes the Count. However, as time progresses, Harker begins to get suspicious. For one thing, the Count never dines with him and always leaves come morning. Harker begins living a nocturnal lifestyle, as night is the only time he can talk to the Count. As he is there on the business of selling the Count a house in the English countryside, this is necessary.
After Harker has a startling series of adventures involving forbidden rooms in the castle and seeing the Count crawl like a spider down the castle wall, returning with a large bag (containing a child which is shortly after killed), he begins to get seriously alarmed. He writes that he is a prisoner, and that the Count plans to kill him (which, from all points, seems to be the case). The Count realizes that Harker is getting suspicious and locks him in his room for long periods of time and takes away almost everything he owns.
When Harker discovers that where the Count really goes during the day is down to the castle basement and into a coffin where he sleeps until the night comes again, he plans his escape. After a group of men come and take the coffin away (after Harker has a near brush with the Count involving a shovel), Harker decides to scale the castle wall with some gold in his pockets and strikes out for home. His journal entry ends with a farewell to his beloved Mina.
For my independent reading book this quarter, I am reading Dracula, by Bram Stoker. I am enjoying it immensely. I am not very far into the book yet, but I hope to progress much further in the next weeks.
The novel so far has been narrated by the main character, Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, in the form of his journal. The story begins with Harker’s traveling to Transylvania, where he plans to meet with the count, Dracula, who owns a large castle there and presides over the surrounding land. Harker meets very peculiar behavior when he tells the locals where he is going. They keep crossing their chest and making a sign to ward off the evil eye. He can make neither heads nor tails of this strange behavior, but accepts a rosary with a cross from the woman who owns the inn where he is staying. He thinks nothing of it at the time, but is later very glad to have it. After a terrifying carriage ride involving wolves and strange blue fires in the night, he arrives at the Count’s castle. Dracula has all the makings of your classic vampire. Red lips with protruding fangs, pale skin – the whole shebang. At the time, Harker thinks this is just peculiar and rather likes the Count. However, as time progresses, Harker begins to get suspicious. For one thing, the Count never dines with him and always leaves come morning. Harker begins living a nocturnal lifestyle, as night is the only time he can talk to the Count. As he is there on the business of selling the Count a house in the English countryside, this is necessary.
After Harker has a startling series of adventures involving forbidden rooms in the castle and seeing the Count crawl like a spider down the castle wall, returning with a large bag (containing a child which is shortly after killed), he begins to get seriously alarmed. He writes that he is a prisoner, and that the Count plans to kill him (which, from all points, seems to be the case). The Count realizes that Harker is getting suspicious and locks him in his room for long periods of time and takes away almost everything he owns.
When Harker discovers that where the Count really goes during the day is down to the castle basement and into a coffin where he sleeps until the night comes again, he plans his escape. After a group of men come and take the coffin away (after Harker has a near brush with the Count involving a shovel), Harker decides to scale the castle wall with some gold in his pockets and strikes out for home. His journal entry ends with a farewell to his beloved Mina.
James Joyce
Meaghan writes:
For my independent classic reading book this last quarter, I chose to read Dubliners, by James Joyce. James Joyce was an Irish novelist, who was born in Dublin on February 2, 1882. Both of his parents studied literature when James was growing up. Joyce expressed his great use of language in Ulysses (1922) and Finnegan’s Wake (1939). Throughout writing all three novels, he expressed his great use of allusions, word play, history, and puns. He published Dubliners in 1914 right after attending Belvedere College in Dublin. James Joyce died on January 14, 1941.
The novel, Dubliners, consists of fourteen short stories, with the addition of an introduction and a preface. This book is very unique, and so far has kept my interest. I am not too far in the book now, I am about to start my fourth short story. The climax comes quick in the short stories, and at the end of each one, I am constantly finding myself wanting to read more. Like I said, Dubliners is a very unique selection consisting of short stories. I have never read anything like any one of the stories. There are loads of characters for every short story. For example, in my favorite so far called The Sisters, I was introduced to Nannie, Eliza, Father O’Rourke, Miss Flynn, Auntie, and Rev. James Flynn. It is hard to keep track of what each character does, but at the end they all come to a conclusion.
I am looking forward to continue reading Dubliners. It will be interesting to see if my personal favorite short story The Sisters will fluctuate and possibly I might have a new favorite short story once I am finished.
For my independent classic reading book this last quarter, I chose to read Dubliners, by James Joyce. James Joyce was an Irish novelist, who was born in Dublin on February 2, 1882. Both of his parents studied literature when James was growing up. Joyce expressed his great use of language in Ulysses (1922) and Finnegan’s Wake (1939). Throughout writing all three novels, he expressed his great use of allusions, word play, history, and puns. He published Dubliners in 1914 right after attending Belvedere College in Dublin. James Joyce died on January 14, 1941.
The novel, Dubliners, consists of fourteen short stories, with the addition of an introduction and a preface. This book is very unique, and so far has kept my interest. I am not too far in the book now, I am about to start my fourth short story. The climax comes quick in the short stories, and at the end of each one, I am constantly finding myself wanting to read more. Like I said, Dubliners is a very unique selection consisting of short stories. I have never read anything like any one of the stories. There are loads of characters for every short story. For example, in my favorite so far called The Sisters, I was introduced to Nannie, Eliza, Father O’Rourke, Miss Flynn, Auntie, and Rev. James Flynn. It is hard to keep track of what each character does, but at the end they all come to a conclusion.
I am looking forward to continue reading Dubliners. It will be interesting to see if my personal favorite short story The Sisters will fluctuate and possibly I might have a new favorite short story once I am finished.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Kristina writes:
This term I am reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. The story takes
place in England at a house called Wuthering Heights and at Thrushcross Grange,
during the early 1800s. So far in the story I have met Heathcliff, Mr. Earnshaw,
Zillah, Lockwood, Joseph, Mrs. Heathcliff, and Hareton. Heathcliff is the main
character of the story. Lockwood is the tenant that is supposed to be staying at a
house called Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff brings him to go introduce his to his
family. Lockwood gets into a fight with Mrs. Heathcliff and Joseph and runs out of
the house. Dogs attack Lockwood and Zillah the housekeeper tells him stay at the
house because the weather is bad and he is hurt. Lockwood is not supposed to
make noise when he is in the house because Heathcliff doesn't know that he is
there. In the room he is staying in he sees books written by Catherine and reads
them. He then soon falls asleep and has a nightmare. Heathcliff wakes up because
he hears him. The story is supposed to be the love between Catherine, Mr.
Earnshaw's daughter and Heathcliff. Catherine has not been introduced in the story
yet. This story has some very difficult language. The plot seems very interesting
though, and I can't wait to read more of the story.
This term I am reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. The story takes
place in England at a house called Wuthering Heights and at Thrushcross Grange,
during the early 1800s. So far in the story I have met Heathcliff, Mr. Earnshaw,
Zillah, Lockwood, Joseph, Mrs. Heathcliff, and Hareton. Heathcliff is the main
character of the story. Lockwood is the tenant that is supposed to be staying at a
house called Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff brings him to go introduce his to his
family. Lockwood gets into a fight with Mrs. Heathcliff and Joseph and runs out of
the house. Dogs attack Lockwood and Zillah the housekeeper tells him stay at the
house because the weather is bad and he is hurt. Lockwood is not supposed to
make noise when he is in the house because Heathcliff doesn't know that he is
there. In the room he is staying in he sees books written by Catherine and reads
them. He then soon falls asleep and has a nightmare. Heathcliff wakes up because
he hears him. The story is supposed to be the love between Catherine, Mr.
Earnshaw's daughter and Heathcliff. Catherine has not been introduced in the story
yet. This story has some very difficult language. The plot seems very interesting
though, and I can't wait to read more of the story.
Tobias Wolff
Tim writes:
The book I chose to read in This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff. He was born on June 19, 1945 in Birmingham, Alabama. The novel is a memoir about his life as he was growing up as a boy just before his teenage years. He grew up with his mother who he was very close to whom always seemed unsettled and was constantly on the move and his abusive step-father. Tobias moved out of Florida with his mother, Rosemary to go north to get away from the step-father and to get rich mining for uranium since Rosemary did not have a lot of money. As a pre-teen, Wolff was always getting in trouble from writing on the bathroom, to throwing eggs at nice cars, to opening up car doors, turning the emergency brakes off and watching them roll down hills hitting other cars on the way.
Wolf attended Stanford University in California in 1977. Before that, he served as a lieutenant in the army from 1964-1968 during the Vietnam War. When he got into writing, he wrote a few short stories including Back in the World and A Night in Question. One novel he wrote was The Barracks Thief. In addition to writing all these, he got several awards including the National Endowment fellowship award and the Henry award.
I’m looking forward to reading this memoir especially because it is about a boy only a few years younger then me. I will probably be able to connect to him in many ways. I have already started reading it and I found that it is very easy I think because of the fact that it is about a boy instead of an adult.
The book I chose to read in This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff. He was born on June 19, 1945 in Birmingham, Alabama. The novel is a memoir about his life as he was growing up as a boy just before his teenage years. He grew up with his mother who he was very close to whom always seemed unsettled and was constantly on the move and his abusive step-father. Tobias moved out of Florida with his mother, Rosemary to go north to get away from the step-father and to get rich mining for uranium since Rosemary did not have a lot of money. As a pre-teen, Wolff was always getting in trouble from writing on the bathroom, to throwing eggs at nice cars, to opening up car doors, turning the emergency brakes off and watching them roll down hills hitting other cars on the way.
Wolf attended Stanford University in California in 1977. Before that, he served as a lieutenant in the army from 1964-1968 during the Vietnam War. When he got into writing, he wrote a few short stories including Back in the World and A Night in Question. One novel he wrote was The Barracks Thief. In addition to writing all these, he got several awards including the National Endowment fellowship award and the Henry award.
I’m looking forward to reading this memoir especially because it is about a boy only a few years younger then me. I will probably be able to connect to him in many ways. I have already started reading it and I found that it is very easy I think because of the fact that it is about a boy instead of an adult.
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
Kayla writes:
So far, in The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, I have met the Tulliver family. The Tulliver family consists of Mr. Tulliver, Mrs. Tulliver, Tom, and Maggie. The family lives near a river, and they own Dorlcote Mill. Mr. Tulliver declares to his wife that he wants to send his son Tom to get a good education after he comes home from his previous school. His daughter Maggie never wants her hair curled and is always running around acting like a boy. She loves her brother Tom a lot and cannot wait until he comes home so she can be with him. When Tom comes home Easter is coming up and the dreadful aunts and uncles are coming.
So far, in The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, I have met the Tulliver family. The Tulliver family consists of Mr. Tulliver, Mrs. Tulliver, Tom, and Maggie. The family lives near a river, and they own Dorlcote Mill. Mr. Tulliver declares to his wife that he wants to send his son Tom to get a good education after he comes home from his previous school. His daughter Maggie never wants her hair curled and is always running around acting like a boy. She loves her brother Tom a lot and cannot wait until he comes home so she can be with him. When Tom comes home Easter is coming up and the dreadful aunts and uncles are coming.
E.M Forster
Erica writes:
The classic I am reading is A Room with a View by E.M Forster. Edward Morgan Forster was born in England in 1879. Unfortunately his father died around the time that he was born so he had to be raised by his mother, who was irresponsible. When Forster got older he eventually went to King’s College in Cambridge. Shortly after he graduated from King’s college he became a writer. He began by writing mostly about “changing social conditions after the decline of the Victorianism”. His writing did begin to differ later on. Some novels he wrote are “Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) and The Longest Journey (1907), followed by the comic novel A Room With a View (1908)”. Forster later died in 1970.
I have started reading the novel A Room with a View. It begins with a British woman named Lucy staying in Florence with Miss. Charlotte Bartlett. They were supposed to have the front room of where they were staying but they did not and instead got a room without a view, until Mr. Emerson traded rooms with them because he is a kind man. The novel then gets into how Lucy witnesses a murder. Seeing this occur she suddenly faints in George Emerson’s arms. Overall even though I am not to far into the novel it is still pretty good and look forward to reading more.
http://www.gradesaver.com/author/e-forster/
The classic I am reading is A Room with a View by E.M Forster. Edward Morgan Forster was born in England in 1879. Unfortunately his father died around the time that he was born so he had to be raised by his mother, who was irresponsible. When Forster got older he eventually went to King’s College in Cambridge. Shortly after he graduated from King’s college he became a writer. He began by writing mostly about “changing social conditions after the decline of the Victorianism”. His writing did begin to differ later on. Some novels he wrote are “Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) and The Longest Journey (1907), followed by the comic novel A Room With a View (1908)”. Forster later died in 1970.
I have started reading the novel A Room with a View. It begins with a British woman named Lucy staying in Florence with Miss. Charlotte Bartlett. They were supposed to have the front room of where they were staying but they did not and instead got a room without a view, until Mr. Emerson traded rooms with them because he is a kind man. The novel then gets into how Lucy witnesses a murder. Seeing this occur she suddenly faints in George Emerson’s arms. Overall even though I am not to far into the novel it is still pretty good and look forward to reading more.
http://www.gradesaver.com/author/e-forster/
Thomas Hardy
Talis writes:
My classic for this term is Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.
I was recommended this book by Aimee, who said it was a pretty good
read. Thomas Hardy is an English author and lived during the time from
1840-1928. He was mainly a poet and wrote a lot about romance and his
interest in the supernatural. His poems were first published in the
1850’s and his first novels were published soon after. Hardy was
married to Emma Gilfford; and she helped inspire his best writing. His
most famous novels included Under the Greenwood Tree, A pair of Blue
Eyes, and Far from the Madding Crowd.
In my novel so far I have been introduced to the main character
Gabriel and his love at first sight Bathsheba. He sees her one day
having troubles with her wagon and then the next at her aunt’s house.
Gabriel uses every chance he can to see her, but she is not very fond
of him. Finally, Gabriel goes down to ask her aunt for Bathsheba’s
hand, but is rejected. Bathsheba comes running after him to say it is
not because there is another man but because she is not in love with
him. Gabriel tries to convince her with having a good life since he
owns a pretty big farm and could make a lot of money; but still she
refuses. Gabriel finally gives up hope on marrying her.
My classic for this term is Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.
I was recommended this book by Aimee, who said it was a pretty good
read. Thomas Hardy is an English author and lived during the time from
1840-1928. He was mainly a poet and wrote a lot about romance and his
interest in the supernatural. His poems were first published in the
1850’s and his first novels were published soon after. Hardy was
married to Emma Gilfford; and she helped inspire his best writing. His
most famous novels included Under the Greenwood Tree, A pair of Blue
Eyes, and Far from the Madding Crowd.
In my novel so far I have been introduced to the main character
Gabriel and his love at first sight Bathsheba. He sees her one day
having troubles with her wagon and then the next at her aunt’s house.
Gabriel uses every chance he can to see her, but she is not very fond
of him. Finally, Gabriel goes down to ask her aunt for Bathsheba’s
hand, but is rejected. Bathsheba comes running after him to say it is
not because there is another man but because she is not in love with
him. Gabriel tries to convince her with having a good life since he
owns a pretty big farm and could make a lot of money; but still she
refuses. Gabriel finally gives up hope on marrying her.
Isabel Allende
Hannah writes:
Isabel Allende was born in Lima, Peru on August 2, 1942 and grew up to be a Chilean-American novelist. As a child, she went to private school and she was home-schooled for a little while. She really liked to read Shakespeare’s works. In 1962 she married Miguel Frias in Chile. With Miguel, she had a daughter, Paula, and a son, Nicholas. Early in her career, she worked as a journalist. She was also the author of many books, as well as a teacher at many colleges in the United States and in Europe. For a short time, she also worked as a playwright. Throughout the years, she has won many awards for her writings. Isabel wrote The House of the Spirits, or La Casa de los Espiritus in 1982. This book made her an instant best selling author and it was a hit throughout the whole world. This novel received the Best Novel of the Year award in Chile, as well as the Panorama Literario award. Her inspiration for writing this novel came from the fact that her 99-year -old grandfather was dying, and she wrote him a letter, which was published into this book. Out of all her books, she is most well known for writing this one. Her books have been translated into 27 languages all over the world. She is still alive and well and lives in San Rafael, California with her husband Willie Gordon.
Isabel Allende was born in Lima, Peru on August 2, 1942 and grew up to be a Chilean-American novelist. As a child, she went to private school and she was home-schooled for a little while. She really liked to read Shakespeare’s works. In 1962 she married Miguel Frias in Chile. With Miguel, she had a daughter, Paula, and a son, Nicholas. Early in her career, she worked as a journalist. She was also the author of many books, as well as a teacher at many colleges in the United States and in Europe. For a short time, she also worked as a playwright. Throughout the years, she has won many awards for her writings. Isabel wrote The House of the Spirits, or La Casa de los Espiritus in 1982. This book made her an instant best selling author and it was a hit throughout the whole world. This novel received the Best Novel of the Year award in Chile, as well as the Panorama Literario award. Her inspiration for writing this novel came from the fact that her 99-year -old grandfather was dying, and she wrote him a letter, which was published into this book. Out of all her books, she is most well known for writing this one. Her books have been translated into 27 languages all over the world. She is still alive and well and lives in San Rafael, California with her husband Willie Gordon.
Thomas Hardy
Sasha writes:
Thomas Hardy, the author of more than ten classic novels was born on June 2, 1840, to Thomas and Jemina Hardy. He was born in Higher Bockhampton in Dorset. His home played a big role in the setting he created for many of his novels.
Hardy was the eldest of four children, but was a small and sickly child. Because of this, Hardy spent much of his childhood indoors, reading.
His earliest writings were not novels, but rather poems. He tried several times throughout his early adulthood to get his poems published, but was rejected every time. Then, after working as an architect for eleven years he wrote his first novel The Poor Man and the Lady. This novel and his next novel were unsuccessful and he continued to work as an architect until 1870, when he met Emma Lavinia Gifford, who later became his wife.
After meeting Gifford he began to write again, this time more successfully. By 1874 his writing had become successful enough that he could stop being an architect and support himself and Gifford, who he married that same year.
His wife died in 1912 after they had spent many years together, living peacefully and traveling around the world together. He continued to write, and in 1914 was remarried to Florence Emily Dugdale. They were married until he died on January 11, 1928. His ashes were put inside Westminster abby, and a collection of his poems entitled Winter Words was published after his death.
Works Cited
Ross, David. "Thomas Hardy." Britain Express. 2000. 14 May 2009.
"Thomas Hardy biography." Notable Biographies. 14 May 2009.
Thomas Hardy, the author of more than ten classic novels was born on June 2, 1840, to Thomas and Jemina Hardy. He was born in Higher Bockhampton in Dorset. His home played a big role in the setting he created for many of his novels.
Hardy was the eldest of four children, but was a small and sickly child. Because of this, Hardy spent much of his childhood indoors, reading.
His earliest writings were not novels, but rather poems. He tried several times throughout his early adulthood to get his poems published, but was rejected every time. Then, after working as an architect for eleven years he wrote his first novel The Poor Man and the Lady. This novel and his next novel were unsuccessful and he continued to work as an architect until 1870, when he met Emma Lavinia Gifford, who later became his wife.
After meeting Gifford he began to write again, this time more successfully. By 1874 his writing had become successful enough that he could stop being an architect and support himself and Gifford, who he married that same year.
His wife died in 1912 after they had spent many years together, living peacefully and traveling around the world together. He continued to write, and in 1914 was remarried to Florence Emily Dugdale. They were married until he died on January 11, 1928. His ashes were put inside Westminster abby, and a collection of his poems entitled Winter Words was published after his death.
Works Cited
Ross, David. "Thomas Hardy." Britain Express. 2000. 14 May 2009
"Thomas Hardy biography." Notable Biographies. 14 May 2009
Gabriel Jose Garcia Marquez
Araz writes:
Gabriel Jose Garcia Marquez was born on March 6,1928,in Aracataca, a town near Northern Colombia. He is a Colombian short-story teller, screenwriter, and journalist. He is best known for his novel, 100 Years of Solitude (1967), and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). In 1982 he was awarded the Noble Prize of Literature. He married Mercedes Barcha in 1958, and a year later they had their first son, Rodrigo Garcia. In 1961,the family traveled by Greyhound bus throughout southern United States and eventually settled down in Mexico City. His novel a 100 Years of Solitude was widely populated and led to Garcia’s Romulo Gallegos Prize in 1972. In 1999 Garcia Marquez was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. Chemotherapy provided by a hospital in Los Angeles proved to be successful and the illness went into remission. In June 1967 over 8000 copies of 100 Years of Solitude had been sold out. His novels are now translated internationally.
Gabriel Jose Garcia Marquez was born on March 6,1928,in Aracataca, a town near Northern Colombia. He is a Colombian short-story teller, screenwriter, and journalist. He is best known for his novel, 100 Years of Solitude (1967), and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). In 1982 he was awarded the Noble Prize of Literature. He married Mercedes Barcha in 1958, and a year later they had their first son, Rodrigo Garcia. In 1961,the family traveled by Greyhound bus throughout southern United States and eventually settled down in Mexico City. His novel a 100 Years of Solitude was widely populated and led to Garcia’s Romulo Gallegos Prize in 1972. In 1999 Garcia Marquez was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. Chemotherapy provided by a hospital in Los Angeles proved to be successful and the illness went into remission. In June 1967 over 8000 copies of 100 Years of Solitude had been sold out. His novels are now translated internationally.
Alexandre Dumas
Parisa writes:
Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas was a French writer best known for writing adventurous novels like The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. He was born in Villers-Cotterêts, northeast of Paris, on July 24, 1802, to an impoverished family that had once been reasonably well off and was descended from nobility. His father had been a general in Napoleon’s army but died in 1806. Alexandre Dumas grew up loving books and listening to his mother’s heroic war stories about his father. Although the two were poor they still had aristocratic connections left by the distinguished General Dumas, and when Alexandre was 20 years old he got a job in Paris working in the Palais Royal. He started writing articles for magazines and then plays for theatre. In the years to come he wrote several very popular plays, and made enough money to become a full time writer, leaving his job at the Palais Royal. He became enormously successful when he started writing novels. He became very wealthy however had the unfortunate predilection to spend more than he had.
Dumas’ paternal grandparents were a French nobleman and a Haitian slave, so he was of mixed race, a fact which affected him all his life. He once responded to an insult with "My father was a mulatto, my grandfather was a Negro, and my great grandfather a monkey. You see, Sir, my family starts where yours ends." In 2002 French President Chirac had Dumas’ body moved to a more prestigious burial site, the Panthéon of Paris, a mausoleum where many French heroes rest, and acknowledged in a speech that racism had existed, and that Dumas should now be honored as the great writer he was. His coffin was carried in a procession by men costumed as the three Musketeers, in a televised ceremony.
The books of Alexandre Dumas are action-packed, vivid stories which naturally lend themselves to becoming movies, and in fact more than 200 movies have been made of Dumas’ books. I enjoyed the Count of Monte Cristo tremendously, it’s my new favorite book, and I plan to read The Three Musketeers next. Also I cannot help but notice that the third movie in the series of The Pirates of the Caribbean seems to have stolen the idea of escaping prison by taking the place of a dead man from the Count of Monte Cristo.
Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas was a French writer best known for writing adventurous novels like The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. He was born in Villers-Cotterêts, northeast of Paris, on July 24, 1802, to an impoverished family that had once been reasonably well off and was descended from nobility. His father had been a general in Napoleon’s army but died in 1806. Alexandre Dumas grew up loving books and listening to his mother’s heroic war stories about his father. Although the two were poor they still had aristocratic connections left by the distinguished General Dumas, and when Alexandre was 20 years old he got a job in Paris working in the Palais Royal. He started writing articles for magazines and then plays for theatre. In the years to come he wrote several very popular plays, and made enough money to become a full time writer, leaving his job at the Palais Royal. He became enormously successful when he started writing novels. He became very wealthy however had the unfortunate predilection to spend more than he had.
Dumas’ paternal grandparents were a French nobleman and a Haitian slave, so he was of mixed race, a fact which affected him all his life. He once responded to an insult with "My father was a mulatto, my grandfather was a Negro, and my great grandfather a monkey. You see, Sir, my family starts where yours ends." In 2002 French President Chirac had Dumas’ body moved to a more prestigious burial site, the Panthéon of Paris, a mausoleum where many French heroes rest, and acknowledged in a speech that racism had existed, and that Dumas should now be honored as the great writer he was. His coffin was carried in a procession by men costumed as the three Musketeers, in a televised ceremony.
The books of Alexandre Dumas are action-packed, vivid stories which naturally lend themselves to becoming movies, and in fact more than 200 movies have been made of Dumas’ books. I enjoyed the Count of Monte Cristo tremendously, it’s my new favorite book, and I plan to read The Three Musketeers next. Also I cannot help but notice that the third movie in the series of The Pirates of the Caribbean seems to have stolen the idea of escaping prison by taking the place of a dead man from the Count of Monte Cristo.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Kurt Vonnegut
Nick writes:
Cats Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut writes extraordinarily well in his novel, Cat's
Cradle. The way he writes however is in a way that tells more of
ideas rather than a story. The main character is looking back on
the events. He relates everything to this idea of Bokonism. Of
course, there is a plot. The idea of the novel is to tell how
this man's path leads him to believing in Bokonism. He is
planning to write a novel on the life of Dr. Hoenikker the father
of the atom bomb. In the process he meets his family, and
discovers a lot about his life. Dr. Hoenikker was a brilliant man
and at one point designed a product with the capability to
destroy the earth. The product, called ice nine is split between
his three kids. The main character believes the kids are all part
of his Karass. A Karass is a Bokonist term for team. Throughout
the novel, the Bokonist ideas show up repeatedly. For example, at
one point the main character lets a man live at his house because
he had nowhere else to go. The man killed the main characters
cat, and destroyed the house but looking back it was a good thing
because it led him into the right direction toward becoming a
Bokonist. So far I have actually discovered a lot about the
family too. The doctor had three kids. Newt is a midget, very
smart and otherwise a surprisingly normal person. Angela lived
her entire life after sixteen years old looking after the doctor.
She has no friends and nowhere to turn after the doctor passes
away. Lastly, Frank is an extremely talented sculptor with a lot
of talent. Unfortunately, he got mixed up in some illegal people.
Frank fled to an island where a dictator keeps him alive only to
be his right hand man. The island, San Lorenzo I Imagine will
later on have more importance to the novel. As I read on, I
imagine I will continue to uncover more about the father of the
atom bomb, his three kids, ice nine, and how it all relates to
these Bokonist ideals.
Cats Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut writes extraordinarily well in his novel, Cat's
Cradle. The way he writes however is in a way that tells more of
ideas rather than a story. The main character is looking back on
the events. He relates everything to this idea of Bokonism. Of
course, there is a plot. The idea of the novel is to tell how
this man's path leads him to believing in Bokonism. He is
planning to write a novel on the life of Dr. Hoenikker the father
of the atom bomb. In the process he meets his family, and
discovers a lot about his life. Dr. Hoenikker was a brilliant man
and at one point designed a product with the capability to
destroy the earth. The product, called ice nine is split between
his three kids. The main character believes the kids are all part
of his Karass. A Karass is a Bokonist term for team. Throughout
the novel, the Bokonist ideas show up repeatedly. For example, at
one point the main character lets a man live at his house because
he had nowhere else to go. The man killed the main characters
cat, and destroyed the house but looking back it was a good thing
because it led him into the right direction toward becoming a
Bokonist. So far I have actually discovered a lot about the
family too. The doctor had three kids. Newt is a midget, very
smart and otherwise a surprisingly normal person. Angela lived
her entire life after sixteen years old looking after the doctor.
She has no friends and nowhere to turn after the doctor passes
away. Lastly, Frank is an extremely talented sculptor with a lot
of talent. Unfortunately, he got mixed up in some illegal people.
Frank fled to an island where a dictator keeps him alive only to
be his right hand man. The island, San Lorenzo I Imagine will
later on have more importance to the novel. As I read on, I
imagine I will continue to uncover more about the father of the
atom bomb, his three kids, ice nine, and how it all relates to
these Bokonist ideals.
Gustave Flaubert
Mairian writes:
I am reading Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. He was born on December 12, 1821 in Rouen. He wrote Madame Bovary in 1856. He also wrote several other novels including La Tentation, Salammbo, L’Education Sentimentale, Trois Contes and others. He sometimes writes stories that have something to do with events in his life or his surroundings. He died on May 8, 1880 because of a stroke at Croisset.
So far in the novel there is a character named Charles and he is a doctor. He got married to a woman named Heloise who didn’t love him much and she was very bossy. She was years older than him and a wealthy widow. One day he got called to a house in the country to fix a man’s broken leg (his name is Roault) and he starts liking the man’s daughter, Emma. He kept visiting the family, too often and Heloise got suspicious and made him promise never to go there again. He promised but soon he found out that Heloise’s lawyer had taken all her money and she lied about the money before the wedding. Charles’s family got angry and a week later Heloise died from shock. Charles started becoming good friends with Roualt and he got remarried to Emma. Emma talked to him about how she didn’t like the country but Charles seemed to be more interested in her beauty. After the wedding Charles took Emma home and she tried to improve her new home. She feels that she isn’t really in love and that it doesn’t seem like it did in the Romance novels that she read.
I am reading Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. He was born on December 12, 1821 in Rouen. He wrote Madame Bovary in 1856. He also wrote several other novels including La Tentation, Salammbo, L’Education Sentimentale, Trois Contes and others. He sometimes writes stories that have something to do with events in his life or his surroundings. He died on May 8, 1880 because of a stroke at Croisset.
So far in the novel there is a character named Charles and he is a doctor. He got married to a woman named Heloise who didn’t love him much and she was very bossy. She was years older than him and a wealthy widow. One day he got called to a house in the country to fix a man’s broken leg (his name is Roault) and he starts liking the man’s daughter, Emma. He kept visiting the family, too often and Heloise got suspicious and made him promise never to go there again. He promised but soon he found out that Heloise’s lawyer had taken all her money and she lied about the money before the wedding. Charles’s family got angry and a week later Heloise died from shock. Charles started becoming good friends with Roualt and he got remarried to Emma. Emma talked to him about how she didn’t like the country but Charles seemed to be more interested in her beauty. After the wedding Charles took Emma home and she tried to improve her new home. She feels that she isn’t really in love and that it doesn’t seem like it did in the Romance novels that she read.
A Book To Choose
Katherine writes:
On deciding which book to pick as my fourth term classic, I
couldn't seem to make up my mind. I had asked several classmates
about their last term reads, all giving me yes or no approvals of
their selections, but none that truly stood out until the last
person I interrogated. I asked him, "Did you like your book?"
He paused seemed to think of the right thing to say, and caught
off guard, avoiding to answer with a yes or no, he replied with,
"Yeah I guess, if you are a seventeen year old girl." Now, he
failed to acknowledge whether or not he liked the book, however
his response intrigued me to look further into it. The book, In
Country, by Bobbie Ann Mason, is about Sam, a small-town Kentucky
girl, who lives with her Vietnam War Veteran Uncle. When my
classmate first answered with "if you are a seventeen year old
girl," I thought he was saying if you are a teenage girl like
yourself, you might like it, but also because he did not want to
admit that he liked a book based of an audience of "seventeen
year old girls," with a yes answer.
I'm glad, rather than playing it safe and merely choosing the
"Yes" categorized books, I went with the mysterious choice. I
have just started the book, but I am enticed by the story, which
is about Sam's interest of her secretive Uncle's past, her
struggle to get information about her father, who was killed in
Vietnam, and her coming of age in Hopewell, a small Southern
town. I also am very interested in History and war scenes so I am
excited to read further and find out more about Sam and her
Uncle's story.
On deciding which book to pick as my fourth term classic, I
couldn't seem to make up my mind. I had asked several classmates
about their last term reads, all giving me yes or no approvals of
their selections, but none that truly stood out until the last
person I interrogated. I asked him, "Did you like your book?"
He paused seemed to think of the right thing to say, and caught
off guard, avoiding to answer with a yes or no, he replied with,
"Yeah I guess, if you are a seventeen year old girl." Now, he
failed to acknowledge whether or not he liked the book, however
his response intrigued me to look further into it. The book, In
Country, by Bobbie Ann Mason, is about Sam, a small-town Kentucky
girl, who lives with her Vietnam War Veteran Uncle. When my
classmate first answered with "if you are a seventeen year old
girl," I thought he was saying if you are a teenage girl like
yourself, you might like it, but also because he did not want to
admit that he liked a book based of an audience of "seventeen
year old girls," with a yes answer.
I'm glad, rather than playing it safe and merely choosing the
"Yes" categorized books, I went with the mysterious choice. I
have just started the book, but I am enticed by the story, which
is about Sam's interest of her secretive Uncle's past, her
struggle to get information about her father, who was killed in
Vietnam, and her coming of age in Hopewell, a small Southern
town. I also am very interested in History and war scenes so I am
excited to read further and find out more about Sam and her
Uncle's story.
Aldous Huxley
Currently my classic novel I am reading for class is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Hurley was born in Godalming, Surrey on July 26, 1894 and he died in Los Angeles on November 22, 1963. Huxley was boor into an upper-class family and was initially surrounded by writing basically from birth because hi father, Leonard Huxley, was a biographer, editor and poet. Huxley lived a hard life starting from the young age of fourteen. At the age of sixteen he was suffered from keratitis punctata, and for about eighteen months he was totally blind.
Huxley attended two colleges in his life. The first was Eton College, Berkshire which he attended from 1908-1913. The second college he attended was Balliol College, Oxford from 1913-1915, here he received his B.A in English in 1916. Huxley did not always want to be a write and a master of English though, at first he wanted to be a scientist, but he was not able to pursue this dream, and switched his career of to study English.
In the novel, Brave New World Huxley’s writing can be seen as complex and hard to read, but if you start to get the idea of the story then I think the reader would have enough determination to get through it, because so far it is a very intriguing story. For some it the novel may not be as interesting to read if one of your favorite genres is science fiction, which mine is, which is what makes the story so enjoyable to me.\
So far I am on chapter five of sixteen. The setting of the first chapter is Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, and the World State’s motto “COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY” is hung before the main entrance of the building (which I am sure is to have some significance later on in the novel). The scene takes place in a laboratory, and Huxley gives the impression that this place is dark, dank and secluded, but very busy.
The first character the reader is introduced to is the Director. I don’t want to be too specific for those of you who may want to read this, but the first impression you get about this character is that they are power hungry and determined about whatever project they take on, and do not want any obstacles to overcome them. What the Director is doing when he is introduced is showing new students around the facility. He explains what they do here at the Hatchery, which is to reproduce humans no longer by natural sexual reproduction, but by artificially producing/developing them in test tubes, bringing true meaning in this book to test-tube babies. The Director goes into further detail about the process, and about the experiments done to the embryo’s, which all of this is called “Bokanovsky Process”. It is believed that this will further stabilize society and help civilization develop.
The next character the reader is introduced to is Mr. Foster, a worker at the Hatchery that is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable of his job and the whole Bokanovsky Process.
Later the Director shows the students around the Nurseries. I do not want to give too much away so I can avoid spoilers, so I’ll leave it at that so those who will later read this can find out about this place. In the World State the idea of loving nature and purity of all things has been abolished by those who work in places like the Hatchery (there are many places all over the world like this, producing billions of artificially produced humans a year).
I think I will stop here, so I can make sure as to not give away too many ideas of and events that occur in Brave New World.
Huxley attended two colleges in his life. The first was Eton College, Berkshire which he attended from 1908-1913. The second college he attended was Balliol College, Oxford from 1913-1915, here he received his B.A in English in 1916. Huxley did not always want to be a write and a master of English though, at first he wanted to be a scientist, but he was not able to pursue this dream, and switched his career of to study English.
In the novel, Brave New World Huxley’s writing can be seen as complex and hard to read, but if you start to get the idea of the story then I think the reader would have enough determination to get through it, because so far it is a very intriguing story. For some it the novel may not be as interesting to read if one of your favorite genres is science fiction, which mine is, which is what makes the story so enjoyable to me.\
So far I am on chapter five of sixteen. The setting of the first chapter is Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, and the World State’s motto “COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY” is hung before the main entrance of the building (which I am sure is to have some significance later on in the novel). The scene takes place in a laboratory, and Huxley gives the impression that this place is dark, dank and secluded, but very busy.
The first character the reader is introduced to is the Director. I don’t want to be too specific for those of you who may want to read this, but the first impression you get about this character is that they are power hungry and determined about whatever project they take on, and do not want any obstacles to overcome them. What the Director is doing when he is introduced is showing new students around the facility. He explains what they do here at the Hatchery, which is to reproduce humans no longer by natural sexual reproduction, but by artificially producing/developing them in test tubes, bringing true meaning in this book to test-tube babies. The Director goes into further detail about the process, and about the experiments done to the embryo’s, which all of this is called “Bokanovsky Process”. It is believed that this will further stabilize society and help civilization develop.
The next character the reader is introduced to is Mr. Foster, a worker at the Hatchery that is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable of his job and the whole Bokanovsky Process.
Later the Director shows the students around the Nurseries. I do not want to give too much away so I can avoid spoilers, so I’ll leave it at that so those who will later read this can find out about this place. In the World State the idea of loving nature and purity of all things has been abolished by those who work in places like the Hatchery (there are many places all over the world like this, producing billions of artificially produced humans a year).
I think I will stop here, so I can make sure as to not give away too many ideas of and events that occur in Brave New World.
Joseph Conrad
Greg writes:
Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was born in Poland as the son of Apollo
Korzeniowski, a Polish playwright and nobleman. His father was well respected in his hometown of Berdychiv (then, it was spelled Berdyczów) mainly for his abilities as a translator of the works of very notable literary geniuses – Dickens, Shakespeare, and Hugo, just to name a few. A life of literature clearly ran in the family!
Conrad became an orphan in 1869, when his father died four years after Conrad’s mother had died of tuberculosis. As a result of these tragic events, the young Conrad spent the rest of his childhood with his uncle in Kraców. Despite having known his father for a relatively short amount of time, his influence spanned Conrad’s entire lifetime; Koreniowski, being a translator, always had the house filled with books in other languages lying around, and a curious Conrad loved to pick them up and read. As a result, Conrad learned three languages – Polish, French, and a bit of English – before his parents’ death, which would prove to be quite useful in his later years, when he developed a love of writing.
At age 16, Conrad began his life at sea. As a seaman, Conrad traveled to all sorts of exotic parts of the world – Australia, Borneo, and the Congo just to name a few. Conrad always found himself writing about his surroundings as a sort of escape. Many voyages out to sea later, Conrad had decided that his true passion was not at sea, but rather with paper and ink. At age 36, Conrad decided to live a more relaxed life at his home in England, and began writing “Heart of Darkness”, a novel that was loosely based on his experiences at sea. Conrad became a well-renowned author in his days, and remains to be one, long after his death at age 66.
Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was born in Poland as the son of Apollo
Korzeniowski, a Polish playwright and nobleman. His father was well respected in his hometown of Berdychiv (then, it was spelled Berdyczów) mainly for his abilities as a translator of the works of very notable literary geniuses – Dickens, Shakespeare, and Hugo, just to name a few. A life of literature clearly ran in the family!
Conrad became an orphan in 1869, when his father died four years after Conrad’s mother had died of tuberculosis. As a result of these tragic events, the young Conrad spent the rest of his childhood with his uncle in Kraców. Despite having known his father for a relatively short amount of time, his influence spanned Conrad’s entire lifetime; Koreniowski, being a translator, always had the house filled with books in other languages lying around, and a curious Conrad loved to pick them up and read. As a result, Conrad learned three languages – Polish, French, and a bit of English – before his parents’ death, which would prove to be quite useful in his later years, when he developed a love of writing.
At age 16, Conrad began his life at sea. As a seaman, Conrad traveled to all sorts of exotic parts of the world – Australia, Borneo, and the Congo just to name a few. Conrad always found himself writing about his surroundings as a sort of escape. Many voyages out to sea later, Conrad had decided that his true passion was not at sea, but rather with paper and ink. At age 36, Conrad decided to live a more relaxed life at his home in England, and began writing “Heart of Darkness”, a novel that was loosely based on his experiences at sea. Conrad became a well-renowned author in his days, and remains to be one, long after his death at age 66.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)