Monday, June 6, 2011

The War has Finally Ended

     Rebellion. Union. Independence. Thesse are omly some of the themes that are in the book I just finished reading "The Chocolate War" by Robert Comier. This book really taught me the true meaning of what it means to grow up and Coming of Age by creating characters who all had something to say different things about sections of growing up. This book is about a young teenager named Jerry Renault who has decided to fight against a secret society in Trinity high school called the Vigils because of his refusal to sell chocolates. This small refusal causes a whole out war and causes the Vigils to question their authoriety. This book holds a great significance to young readers and teaches many that Rebellion is necessary to growing up, Unison can help anyone get through life, and Independence is always going to be a main part in life.
     Throughout this book, Jerry Renault has had complex emotions. In the beginning of this book, he wqas very quiet and let the universe interfere with his life. In the middle of the book, Jerry had finally began to rebel by not selling the chocolates, but wasn't taking action like how the Vigils were taking action on him. In the end of the book, Jerry had finally found the power and courage to fight back, and ended up being the bigger man.
     Rebellion was one of Jerry's and the Vigil's stronrholds. Jerry, although he was practically a no body in Trinity high school, he bacme most wanted in the Vigil's eyes. When he rebeled, he was finally able to show the universe that he was maturing and growing up. Even some members of the Vigils rebeled against Archie, a leader of the Vigils, because they had thought that some of his methods of growing powerful and taking over the school were wrong.
     Uniso keeps everyone together. This kept the members of the Vigils united. Even though the Vigils could be seen as the villains of this book, they too needed to stay united showing that even the evils of life needs to stay together. Throughout the book, the Vigils stayed united even though many of them didn't agree with the leaders of the Vigils at times in the book. They knew that if they didn't stay together, they couldn't be able to go against the universe themselves. Though there are some consequences of being dependent on others instead of your own self. It could cause you to have to follow the actions of others which will slowly lead to peer preasure.
     Independence is important to practice beacuse it is necessary to go through the growing up stage and cross the bridge to adulthood. Jerry had to be independent throughout the book because no one really supported him and his rebellion. His mom had died a while ago and since that, him and his father seemed to have the most boring of life, or at least thats what they made it sound like when they were talking about their day. It was like he was against the universe.He had to become independent and believe in only himself that he could overcome this situation, wehich amazes me because he was practically against his entire school due to his rebellion and to some how find a way to still get through school and fight the Vigils was unbelievable. What was weird was how Jerry Renault was just one small kid who didn't even mean to start a war and yet there are hundreds of Vigil members and they couldn't stop him from keeping on his rebellion. He didn't even see his refusal to sell chocolates as a big thing and when the Vigils were talking about it, it sounded like they were a government that was debating what next to do to stop terrorist attacks.
     In the end, Jerry Renault had started off with a low profile and a possible Vigil member and ended up being a main reason of why the Vigils almost lost all their power. I saw Jerry Renault as a quiet weapon with heavy artillary. He was at first just a minor student and seen like everyone else, then he refuses to sell chocolates and that changes everything. He was a very complex character. He saw his refusal as nothing, while the Vigils saw it as a crisis. He was very independent throughout the war, while Archie had the power, but seemed to not have the courage to do some things that he was sending the Vigil members to do. When Jerry refused to sell the chocolates, I felt like he was laughing inside and knew he had so much power and control of the Vigils because he didn't mean to start this war, but when he saw the effort the Vigils were putting in just to get him down, he saw himself as a major target. This book doesn't only teach what it means to grow up, it has other life lessons. One lesson is that even a small miracle can save the day because Jerry was that small miracle he taught the Vigils a powerful lesson. Life is a box of chocolates.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Even Chocolate Has Meaning

     Rebellion. Its one of the choices we must make to fight for what we think is right. Its also what we must do to grow up. Rebellion requires power, but most importantly, rebellion requires loyalty. Once you begin a rebellion, you can't go back and must keep fighting. This is just one subject that comes up in the Coming of Age book I'm reading, which is called "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier. This book is about a freshman in high school, Jerry Renault, who has to face, not only the the hardships of  Trinity high school, but a hidden society called The Vigils. The Vigils become mixed in various emotions such as confusion and frustration after Jerry refuses to sell chocolates for a fundraiser and decide that war is the option. Jerry  doesn't only face Trinity High School, but the universe.
     Jerry, in the beginning, seemed to be more of a person in the inside than on the outside. His feelings about things and his wants just stayed in his mind. Like in the beginning of the book, when he is trying out to be a quarterback, after getting battered by the team with crushing tackles, the coach goes over to Jerry and when he is talking to him, spit hits him. In his head, he rebels against the coach, but outside, he just accepts the spray of spit. Jerry only accepted conflicts and didn't speak up.
     There are always internal and external conflicts in characters that causes them to advance or get set back in life. Jerry faces the conflict at which on the inside, conflicts are mashed together and there seems to be something holding him back from expressing them on the outside. One example would be of his mother's death. On the inside, even just remembering her hit him, but on the outside, you couldn't even tell if he was sad. Both him and his father seem so quiet on the subject. When thinking of his father, Jerry on the inside has huge hopes of not turning out like how his father did, yet he doesn't show this towards his dad or even anyone.
     The person that is an active part of Jerry's life is actually the universe. Everyone around him seems to be against him whether its Brother Leon rampaging him with the whole rebellion of selling chocolates or its his father just not being so involved in Jerry's life. As the universe pushes him backward, something inside him seems to force him to progress in life.He adjust himself to the conflict at which he faces so that he can overcome it. Jerry is more of an independent kind of kid who can be tough when needed. Rebellion is one thing that is created in Jerry's system according to the conflicts that are inflicted amongst him by the universe.
     One Quote from the book is "Do I dare disturd the universe?" Jerry had seen this on a poster in his locker. The autor made sure that Jerry saw this because the only reason why someone would look at something deeper would be that they can connect to it. Jerry connects to this quote because he is questioning if rebellion is the right thing to do. He feels as if him rebelling would somehow affect the people around him instead of just himself being affected.
     Coming of Age books are all about how childhood can only be overcomed with some type of experiance, moment, or decision. This book expresses just that. Jerry's decision of finally rebelling what he thought on the inside to the outside world showed how he is becoming more of an adult and that he can be independent, not having to count on others for support. Its the actions that usually make the person and in this book and other Coming of Age books, the characters perform actions that shows that they are maturing.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Importance of the Non-Important

     I know you haters of Manga may think that the books do not contain depth and meaning like regular books do, but you're wrong. Though each page may only contain 1-30 words, those words can be thoroughly observed. I don't read that much Manga books because many times, they are not accepted by certain teachers because of  the easy reading and unchallenging theories and understanding of the book, but when I do, I like to make sure that I have fully understood the meaning of the book/episode. Every book you read is challenging only if you take your time to analyze page by page. The volume of Naruto Shippuden that I just finished is #46. Now this volume has a lot to unpack because it is fillled with extreme action. In this episode, a ninja from the Ataski clan, Pain, has come to the leaf village in search of Naruto because he has a powerful beast inside of him, which they want to use as a weapon. The main issue in this episode is the meaning of pain and peace through Pain's eyes, and the meaning of pain through the villagers of the leaf village. Pain and the villagers of the leaf village obviously have different opinions of the word.
     To Pain, the meaning of pain and peace is that to achieve peace in the world, it has to feel pain. He explains this right before he performs a powerful jutsu that destroys most of the village. He also brings up this while Naruto and him are fighting. After Naruto sees that the village is almost completely destroyed, Naruto says "What part of this is peaceful!" and Pain responds with:
     "Your death shall lead to piece." What I think this means is that there will be piece for only the Ataski clan because, although I believe that Pain's theory is true, I feel that Pain is such an evil person that why would he want to bring any piece for the village. If Naruto gets captured, his death would mean that the Ataski now has the Nine-Tailed fox as a weapon, which would extremely boost the success rate of their plans. What the Ataski and the leaf village are in right now is a war. The theory does conect to war because that is what war does. It first creates destruction, then subsides to create a settlement, but many times, its only a settlement to one side and thats what is happening here.
     To the villagers of the leaf village, pain and peace means that a incredible miracle has to occur for peace to happen. What I think they mean is that there will never be peace, but it is possible to keep pain away from their village. I think many of the villagers see Naruto as a miracle because he was supposed to be looked at as a possible destruction for the entire village as he grew up, and he did for awhile, until he finally was able to make friends. Now, everyone can see how a boy who started isolated from the world, is standing up against a powerful ninja, who may mean the the end of the village.
     See, manga books can be explored just like regular books. I know I had a blogpost like this one, but the other one was based off the episode on television. Next time you see a Manga book, don't assume that you cant write a 4-5 paragraph essay because it may be packed with more information than a book with 700 pages.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Monsters of MMP

     Have you ever wondered why kids are sometimes suprisingly depressed sometimes? Isolated from the world of joy that sits right in front of them. Why is this so? My first guess would be school work. I mean, most of the time, when I'm depressed, thats the case. When reading the book "The Monstrumologist," by Rick Yancey, realized that there are many other reasons of a kid's loneliness. Their parents, their guardians, the people they expect to give them a chance to be what ever they want to be. In the book, young 12 year old Will Henry is the assistant to a "doctor" who actually is a different than most doctors because what he studies are actual monsters. Whats the negative of the job? You can't live a normal life. You can't have relationships and have to lie about your job every time your asked of it. Will is and soon has to take over the responsibility due to a promise he made to the doctor if he would die. Parents/Guardians play a huge role in how their child/ protected engage the world and many times, the parents/guardians don't realize that they may wnat to live life the way they want to live it.
     The reason why I keep saying parent/guardian is because the doctor is not Will's father. Will and the doctor had nobody, Will wanted to join the doctor. In the book, there are some examples of why Will doesn't want to be an monstrumologist. For example, when the doctor is examining every inch of a corpse to figure out what type of monster killed it, he descibes it in such a grusome way and tells of the horrer it was at the sight of it abd the acrid stench of the corpse. This gives the reader a sense that Will sometimes regrets ever becoming the doctor's assistant. Another reason would be, not only is he only 12 years old, but being an orphan because of a fire that killed his parents, he was probably desperate to have someone be there for him and for someone to care for him, so, at such a young age, he would do anything just to feel love, even agree to be an assistant of a, some may say, a lunatic.
     When parents steer their childrens lives into the lives they want for them, this may cause the child to have a life that they may not want. The author of this book, Rick Yancey, wants the reader to know this because although parents want the best for the children, they can offer suggestions, but can't force them to be what they don't want to be. Everybody has a choice to do whatever they want with their life and no one should ever be forced to be what they don't want to be.
     When in this situation, children are trapped. They depend on their parents to enforce justice to them, but what if it's the parents who do injustice to their children. This is one situation that, may not be looked as a serious situation, but to many, it is tough to live life with it lingering in their households. This connects to the world in many ways. One main way is with education. Many children are forced to do good in school by making them do extra curiculums. They also place serious consequences on them to force them to put every effort of work into their school work. Why don't they just rebel? Its their parents. The ones who taken care of them sense they were born. They would feel like they're the bad guys. Also, parents don't realize what may be good for their child is mostly benefiting the parent more than the child. My brother is going to college and has broken down the schools that accepted him to 2 schools. My brother wants to go to a school that is big and the campus is beautiful, but my mom wants him to go to the other one, which offers a better education and has a better reputation. In a way, my mom is wavering between forcing him to go or just giving him suggestions to go to the school. If parents force their children to become what they want them to be, there wouldn't be much of a variety to this world. Have you ever wondered why kids are sometimes suprisingly depressed sometimes? I know I have.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Romliet

     A powerful, romantic story filled with everything a good play, which is a book, which is a movie needs. What am I talking about? Im talking about a book club maker, a mentor for many, and maybe a tear forcer for some: Romeo and Juliet. But I'm not talking about the play. I'm talking about the movie with Leonardo de Caprio in it (I don't remember the directors name). The movie showed Romeo and Juliet in modern time. What the movie did was it really expressed the love and violence that there is in the play to show that Romeo and Juliet is not just a stupid play that Shakespare wanted people to see, its a play that you should feel as well.
     One thing that this movie made me feel was the talk about love, specifically young love. Romeo and Juliet weren't really even considered fully mature yet, yet their love seemed much more powerful than the average that we see today. People complain that young love isn't real love because they haven't really experianced the world for that long yet or they just haven't experianced love itself. What this movie made me realize is that the definition of young love is love as well as old love as well as strong love as well as weak love. Everyone is capable to love and to share love with another because love in a way is the liking someone over a period of time because of traits they have that you like.
     Another thing this movie made me feel was that love and violence always exist together. Romeo and Juliet's love caused some violence to erupt like their deaths because their love caused them and the other Montagues and Capulets to do crazy things and one of the things was violence. Romeo and Juliet's love caused them to kill themselves because of the terrible luck of them both seeing the other dead. Also, love occured because of the violence. With the Montagues and Capulets doing violence towards each other, it was bound for love to step right in between all that violence.
     Another thing this movie made me question is that is there such thing as a controlled fate? In the movie, Romeo, throughout the movie talks to the stars because he thinks the stars controll peoples fate. I'm christian and I believe that God knows everyones future, but can you decide on your own future? I think that Shakespare included the theme of fate in the story because of Romeo and Juliets love. Was it fate that brought them together or was it just coencidental love? Romeo probably thought that it was the stars that brought him and Juliet together and apart because it was such a powerful love at first sight that it couldn't have just been by accident. They were bound to be together.
     Hatred is another thing in the movie because how much hatred do you have to have for someone to lead you to do violence against them. In the movie, when Mercussio was killed, you could see the danger and lust in Romeo's eyes when he was driving the car. You can also tell the amount of hatred Romeo had because he had just come from his own marriage with the love of his life and he was so mad, he prctically forgot all about it when he got revenge.
     The movie was a very good example of how Romeo and Juliet should be looked at because, although all the gunslinging and extreme kissing may not seem to be in the play, it should be looked at as just as the movie is looked at. All the concepts of love and hatred and violence in the movie and play is very vital for the world to see the dangers, the excitement, and the extremes of these concepts because I'm sure that the world was and will always be flooding with many of the concepts shown in Romeo and Juliet.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Diary of Assasains

     My independent reading book that I've been reading is called "Brotherhood of the Roses" by David Morrell. This book is very intresting because its about one of the coolest things next to ninjas, assasains. What my favorite part about the writing is the awsome descriptions, characters and of course, the action.
     David describes the scenes perfectly. He really gets into detail when he is desrcribing a person and what makes it cool is he makes the characters describe other characters in the eyes of an assasain. He takes time in describing things like cars, guns, and basically anything that an assasain would see as intresting( everything).
     The characters in the book are really developed. Not only that, but their emossions are shown throughout the book. He shows how they feel by showing and not telling. For example, instead of saying Saul was sad as he pointed the gun at his father's head, he would say Tears swamped Saul's face as his magnum pressed against his father's temple. I think that this is pretty intresting of how David can do this because when I'm writing, I try not to tell, but its hard not to because you have to find examples to show what someone feels and how they act or what they do to show emotion.
     I like how action scenes are described in this book because he makes them very dramatic and long lasting. In my stories, for me, its hard to make fight scenes because I think that they sound very stupid. You have to describe every move one by one and you have to make sure they vary. In some action scenes, I get scared that my favorite characters are going to die because with bullets flying everywhere, its hard not to get hit by one.
     One major reason why I like this book so much is that it inspired me to write my independent writing piece about the diary of an assassin. This book really helped me with my story because it will help me with revising my story because it will help with show not tell, expanding descriptions, character development and much more.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Better Than Chicken

    After reading these post, not only have I learned much more intresting ways of how to elaborate, but I also learned that these 3 star mentors are truely great writers and that these post are better than chicken.
http://booksupontheswiftofthewind.blogspot.com/Love

     I really like Anisha's methods and styles of her writing. Some things she does that really makes for a good blog is that she really digs deep into the concepts of every inch of this poem. She doesn't only think about the poem, but how it relates to the world. Also, she doesn't only find one theme in the poem. She also describes of what love is to her. She elaborates on her ideas and sticks with one major theme until the end. What I also like is how she starts to connect to the poems meaning and what she hopes will happen to it.

http://shadman1212.blogspot.com/Howdoyouseeyourself

     Shadman's poem really made my day. I thought that this poem to reach out to many because the painting he responded to about Picasso, he saw that many people probably saw this as ugly because of all the features of his face. In the poem he repeats It all depends on you and I like that he said this because this could mean anything, but whatb I thought Shadman was trying to say was that you can be ugly if you think you're ugly. It doesn't matter what anyone else says. I felt like this poem is strong enough to probably drop the percentage rate of kids in schools being bullied by 10%.

http://kaylaceelovesbooks.blogspot.com/       1st one doesn't have a title    response to poem

     I really liked how Kayla responded to the picture with her poem because from that one small picture, she was able to blossom her ideas onto her blog. What I also liked is how she described each one of her backgrounds with how life was there, how it looked, and how she felt about it. I really liked how she said that it does't matter where you're going, but where you're from because what this means to me is that  the past will always stay with you, some thinghs just stay the same, and you can never forget what you're coming from.