Discuss your ideas about your chosen book. Use it as a place to share ideas and insights.
Monday, March 29, 2010
homework for thursday may 6
Please print out a copy of what you have written so far on your short story. Bring it to class. We will read them and give each other feedback on what we have so far.
The protagonist is named Alice. She is the younger sister of Riley and good friend to Paul. Alice is a very patient and forgiving person. She welcomes people back in her life even after years of them being away. She is very trusting to her sister and Paul. Alice follows the people she trusts and will never turn against them. She is good at cutting hair but has long brown hair herself. She knows when it is appropriate to tell others what she knows and when to keep her mouth shut. She is brave and caring towards her friends. Alice is not always sure of the right thing to do making her shy to the people she cares about. She knows that Paul likes her but is not sure what way he likes her in. Alice seems like a good person overall.
The protagonist of my story is Winston Smith. He was born and raised in London, although he remember very little about his childhood. London is controlled by a totalitarian regime, where almost everything you do is monitored and controlled by The Party. Winston works as a clerk in the records department at the Ministry of Truth. He lives in a broken down apartment building, built in 1913. He has very little money, and sometimes has to skip meals due to it. Through the beginning chapters, he starts to question The Party. He begins to write about his feeling about The Party by creating a diary, a rare item. For just using the diary, he could be sentenced to death by the government, or imprisoned for years.
The protagonist in "RADIX" is called Sumner Kagen. He is morbidly obese making him very unappealing to all men and women. He compares himself to his car saying that they are both very similar. His car always covered in grime and there are remnants of food all over the floor. He is very unkempt and tried to grow a beard but it made him look like he had a disease. As a character, Sumner can be identified as a type of serial killer. He takes great pleasure in killing people that have caused him in harm in some kind of way. His need for killing people that have harmed him started out as seeking revenge but then he discovered that he not only enjoyed killing these people but he was able to do it without leaving any kind of evidence. Sumner enjoys murdering people but the only thing he enjoys more is causing dread in people. The problem is that he can't take credit for what he has done so instead he awards himself with various forms of pleasure. At this point it is hard to tell whether or not he is a "good" person but it can be agreed that there is something wrong with him that will be revealed.
The protagonist is Alice. She is 21 years old and has an older sister named Riley who is 24 years old. They are closer than how sisters usually are. They both have a close friend named Paul, who is also 24. Every summer, Alice and her family would stay at their beach house where the two sisters grew up with Paul. Alice has been in love with him ever since she was young. However, she's been shy around him ever since he returned to town after 3 years of absence. Alice is a sweet young woman. She is a caring and passionate girl who enjoys knitting and braiding her long hair. She is also a help to her sister and friends when they are in need of a haircut. Alice is a type of girl you cannot get easily mad at.
The protagonist is Tilo who also goes by many other different names throughout the story. She is the owner of a spice shop and claims that she has the best shop in the world. She is an old mistress that says she has a young personality but is faced with an elderly body. The story then transitions to her talking about her younger life. When she grew up she was faced with a hard and poor life. But when she gains the ability to foretell the future and other powers she had people trembling in fear of her. Because of this, she lived a great childhood. She was rich and her parents did not complain about the things that she did because they were also living a good life because of her popularity. Tilo is also a person that expects that everything will go right for her. But her personality and outlook on life is greatly changed when she is kidnapped by pirates and her influence has no affect on them. But when she regains her powers, she quickly seizes control over them and becomes the queen of the pirates. I think that this changes her personality to a more rugged way of doing things because she is living a pirate life.
Currently, the main protagonist in the beginning of "The Last Summer," seems to be Alice. She is twenty one years old and the younger sister to another protagonist in the book, named Riley. Alice, has long hair which she likes to braid and many splinters on the bottom of her feet just like everyone else in her town because of the splintering boardwalk. Her best friend, the third and final protagonist is her crush who's been gone for three years, named Paul; who she is also younger than. She seems to be blindly in love with Paul, who unfortunately treats her badly and forgets about her. She has a more calm and shy personality compared to that of her sister's and Paul's who are more open and social. Riley is strikingly adventurous and loves to swim just like Paul who she is also in love with. However, Paul is also more free-spirited and feels less obligated to follow his responsibilities or commitments. Paul had long brown hair after leaving for three years until Alice cut it short for him when he came back. Even though he looks like he displays everything out in the open for everyone in the open, in truth he can be a very private person who's hides things about himself.
In the hitchhhikers guide to the galaxy the protagonist is Arthur Dent. Arthur is a very stubborn man who decides what will happen to him and then makes sure that whatever he had previously decided would happen. An example is that his house was going to be bulldozed down to make room for a new highway. Arthur decides that he wants to keep his house and lies down in front of the bulldozer to stop it. Visually, he is very normal and average in almost every way. It is his friend, Ford Prefect, that is abnormal. Ford is different because he was born hundreds of light years away from the planet Earth. He convinces the man driving the bulldozer to get off of the bulldozer and lie in front of it so that it cannot move while Ford and Arthur go off to a bar to get something to drink. While they are at the bar Ford asks the bartender to hurry up because the world will be destroyed in two minutes. This actually happens. Ford and Arthur are the only citizens of Earth that survived.
The protagonist of my story is a man named Perry. It is unknown so far how old he is and his place of birth. He had run away from his dis-functional family to join the war in vietnam. He is unsure why he wanted to join the army but wanted to get away from his family. On the airplane shipping the fresh recruits over to Vietnam he meets a man who calls himself Peewee. They immediately become companions. For the first section of the book, they ask each other why they wanted to join the army. They also tell each other about their past lives and what they desired to become after the war. So far this book is turning out to be a very interesting and captivating story. I'm glad I chose this book.
The protagonist in the book "In Cold Blood" is Herbert Clutter. He is a very caring father and husband. Herb is also a very wealth farmer who lives in Holcomb, Kansas. He haf four children and a wife. He is a very intelligent man and is caring. His children and wife are also very respectful. His eldest children are Eveanna and Beverly. The two younger siblings are Kenyon and Nancy.
1. Covenant(n)- An agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified. Book Ex: "What did not accord with the covenant Paul did not tell Riley and Alice"(Pg. 26)
2. Patina(n)- A film or incrustation, usually green, produced by oxidation on the surface of old bronze and often esteemed as being of ornamental value. Book Ex: "The floor had a patina of spilled soda and sticky bare feet." (Pg. 33)
3. Solemnity(n)- The state or character of being solemn; earnestness; gravity; impressiveness. Book Ex: "There was always a solemnity to these proceedings, which tickled Alice a little and was probably the reason she hadn't become a lifeguard." (Pg. 43)
4. Pontoon(n)- (Military) A boat or some other floating structure used as one of the supports for a temporary bridge over a river. Book Ex: "The boat was already heeled over onto one pontoon." (Pg. 49)
Doublethink (n)- A simultaneous belief in two contradictory ideas. Ex: All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. 'Reality control', they called it: in Newspeak, 'doublethink'.
Big Brother (n)- The leader of an authoritarian state or movement. Ex: He tried to remember in what year he had first heard mention of Big Brother.
Inscrutable (adj)- Not readily investigated, interpreted, or understood. Ex: His face remained completely inscrutable. Never show dismay!
Varicose (adj)- Abnormally swollen or dilated. Ex: His veins had swelled with the effort of the cough, and the varicose ulcer had started itching.
Tara said... Switched book to The Winter Garden, by: Kristen Hannah
1. Dissapate (v): disperse or scatter. Ex: She wished that they could come together, dissipate some of this pain by pooling it.
2. Suppression (n): the action of suppressing something such as an activity or publication. Ex. Only its supression would get her through these hard times.
3. Zeal (n): great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. Ex. So she went on, smiling brightly at work and moving from one chore to the next with a desperate zeal.
4. Acquiescence (v): accept something reluctantly but without protest. Ex. It was much easier than she thought it would be, and she was surprised by the acquiescence.
1. Filigreed: delicate ornamental work of fine silver, gold, or other metal wires, esp. lacy jewelers' work of scrolls and arabesques. "She leaned back against the filigreed table, suddenly feeling very heavy."
2. Incongruously: out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming. "He had a straight fierce mouth and incongruously dreamy eyes."
3. Phantasmagoric: a shifting series of phantasms, illusions, or deceptive appearances, as in a dream or as created by the imagination. "Sumner stared dumbfounded at the ghost city and its phantasmagoric shapes until the rickety truck suddenly swung off the rimroad."
4. Couloir: a steep, narrow gully on a mountainside. “Corby started down a couloir that sliced through the steep incline of the rise and descended abruptly to the basin below.”
1. catastrophe a momentous tragic event ranging from extreme misfortune to utter overthrow or ruin "Only a catastrophe gets our attention." 2. entourage one's attendants or associates "... interviewed members of the King's entourage and family,...." 3. coup overturn, upset "a mare than middling coup, Murray conceded." 4.belligerent inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness "her features, crowded somewhat in the center of her face, gave to her moments of concentration a puggish and half-belligernt look."
to·pol·o·gy –noun 1. the study of those properties of geometric forms that remain invariant under certain transformations, as bending or stretching. “As a band of children, they had laid a magical world over the topology of this skinny place, spread it from ocean to bay.” Page 23
pre·emp·tive –adjective 1.of or pertaining to preemption. 2.taken as a measure against something possible, anticipated, or feared; preventive; deterrent: a preemptive tactic against a ruthless business rival. “By siding with an early version of yourself, preemptively, you would doubt all future selves that conflicted with it.” Page 26 pat·i·na –noun 1.a film or incrustation, usually green, produced by oxidation on the surface of old bronze and often esteemed as being of ornamental value. “The floor had a patina of spilled soda and sticky bare feet.” Page 33
ed·i·fice –noun 1.a building, esp. one of large size or imposing appearance. 2.any large, complex system or organization. “And so it remained an edifice in memory only—growing thereby larger and more skillfully built with time.” Page 40
ves·tige –noun 1.a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence: A few columns were the last vestiges of a Greek temple. “It was a vestige from past walks when they used to help each other with their collections.” Page 41
Patina (n)- a green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals, produced by oxidation over a long period. "The floor had a patina of spilled soda and sticky bare feet." (p.g 33)
Sporadically (adj)- occurring at irregular intervals or only in a few places; scattered or isolated. "The Ping-Pong table on the other side of the room was given its proper use only sporadically, when someone remembered to get balls on the mainland." (p.g 33)
Cellulite (n)- persistent subcutaneous fat causing dimpling of the skin, esp. on women's hips and thighs. "She never showed girly weaknesses like cellulite or crushes." (p.g 44)
Pontoon (n)- a flat-bottomed boat or hollow metal cylinder used with others to support a temporary bridge or floating landing stage. "The boat was already heeled over onto one pontoon." (p.g 49)
1) Parameter: a limit or boundary that defines the scope of a particular process or activity The Mssion Parameters clearly stated not to kill any civilians
2) Ultimatum: a final demand or statement of terms, the rejection of which will result in retaliation or a breakdown in relations The Police officer gave the robber an ultimatum that he would shoot him if he did not put his hands in the air.
3) Abysmal: informal extremely bad; The student's math test score abysmal.
4) impending: to be about to happen The people who looked up at the airplanes were unaware of the impending doom that they brought.
1) Surmount- to mount upon; get on the top of; mount upon and cross over: to surmount a hill. ex: "Evinrude ranked above it, and surmounting even Evinrude was Bobby's signet Ring."
2) Cumbersome- burdensome; troublesome. ex: "the signet ring was the cumbersome proof of her "going steady" status, which she wore.
3) Wan- showing or suggesting ill health, fatigue, unhappiness, etc.: a wan look; a wan smile. ex: "When she had first appeared in Holcomb, a melancholy, imaginative child, willowy and wan and sensitive, then eight, a year younger than Nancy.
4) Reticent- disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved. ex: "Thus, the girls were no longer always together, and Nancy deeply felt the daytime absence of her friend, the one person with who she need be neither brave nor reticent."
1. Cypress- Any of various unrelated plants resembling the true cypress.
"Still, sometimes I think I will try it, stand in evening mist at land's end in a grove of twisted cypress, among foghorns and black seals barking and sing to them."
2. Linoleum- A hard, washable floor covering formed by coating burlap or canvas with linseed oil, powdered cork, and rosin, adding pigments to create the desired colors and patterns.
"His feet fly over the worn linoleum, almost not touching."
3. Salaaming- A salutation meaning "peace," used especially in Islamic countries.
"From the first time when he came into the shop behind haughty-hipped Mrs. K, finding and piling up and carrying and salaaming but always the rueful amusement in his eyes saying, I am playing at this only for awhile."
4. Wraith- An apparition of a living person supposed to portend his or her death.
"They become water wraiths, spirits of water and salt, crying in the voices of gulls."
In "The Last Summer (of You & Me)," the setting takes place during the summer at Fire Island, "a small village on a small island with customs and rules on its own. "No keys, no wallet, no shoes" was the saying that expressed their summer way of life."" (p.g 4). People walked instead of using vehicles. Most scenes from the book are from the beaches, the yacht club, Alice and Riley's beach house, and Paul's.
I think the mood of this novel is part sensual. The author establishes this mood by this description: "He [Paul] was thrown by the way he had seen her the night before, so much of her shivering in the moonlight. He was thrown further by how his body had respondeed to the sight of her body. He was ashamed now, in that morning-after-way, of all the pleasures that his sleeping mind had come up with." (p.g 59) Paul had seen Alice half naked last night, with her arms covered over her breasts.
The setting of my book is mostly in a spaceship and the various places that the spaceship stops.
The mood of the book is very humorous and not at all serious. The author sets the mood by having the main characters constantly having humourous mishaps that never really put them in peril.
This novel takes place in Vietnam in 1967. the Author describes the setting in the beggining of the story. I would say the mood of this novel is both humorous and serious. The writer is constantly making jokes and lightening the mood but at the same time Peewee and Perry are also scared of dying in combat.
Hello ms. sefton The protagonist in my story, Fallen Angelse by Walter Dean Myers is named Perry. Perry is also the narrator of this story. HE comes from a poor back ground and does not have very much growing up. In he story one comment that he makes is the the army is the first place were he got what everyone else got, referring to his his child hood when other kids had allot more than him.
In my novel Fallen Angles by Walter Dean Myers the setting takes place in Vietnam in the late 60's during the time of the Vietnam war. The mood in this story is humorous and various characters around Perry and peewees camp make humorous jokes of there situation, even though they are in the most dangerous climate in the world at the time.
barracks;noun; a building or group of buildings for lodging soldiers, esp. in garrison.
Ration; noun; a fixed allowance of provisions or food, esp. for soldiers or sailors or for civilians during a shortage
Infantry; noun; soldiers or military units that fight on foot, in modern times typically with rifles, machine guns, grenades, mortars, etc., as weapons.
The setting of the novel so far, is a boarding school. The setting/atmosphere is slightly humorous, but tense at the same time. What I mean by this, is that Lyra and her daemon Pan are constantly joking around with each other, and breaking rules of the school, but it is also tense, because if they were to be caught breaking the rules, they would be beaten severely.
homework from a few nights ago... The protagonist is the mother Anya Whitson. She is a russian immigrant, and has a very strained relationship with her two daughters. While the father/ her husband was alive, he was able to hold the very different family together; but now that he is dead, the two daughters (Nina and Meredith Whitson) need to obey his last wish on his deathbed: to become closer with their mother. Through the tales that the mother tells, and so far the dilemmas that she has caused, it is bringing the family together. She is a very difficult person to get along with, and is very stubborn. In the story, I have yet to find out why it is that the mother chooses not try very hard on working on the relationships with her daughters..? Hopefully as the story progresses, more will be reveiled about the mothers secret past, etc. ~Tara M. "The Winter Garden"
Setting: The family runs an orchard called "Belye Noche" on the bank of the Columbia River... this was revealed in the first chapter of the book.
Mood: The mood of this book is a mixture between: desire, intrigue, a bit of romance, and somewhat tragic. Although these words don't pay this book enough tribute, but it is close to it.
Moooood from author: We get the feelings of desire and intrigue from the distant russian mother, and from the interesting tales that she tells, and from these tales we get very small details that relate to the mother. These details are helping to reveal little bits of the secretive past of the mothers life in Russia. The tragedy is when the father (who held the very different family together) died of a heart attack in the beginning of the novel. ~ Tara "The Winter Garden"
The story takes place in London, which is revealed by the main character early in the book. The atmosphere is dark and drab, with a lot of coverups and conspiracies in the government. However, there are many people who fully support the Party, and have a happy tone. The atmosphere is described mostly through the state of the buildings that Winston sees, or even lives in. The mood of all the people and lack of basic supplies such as razors make it seem very dark.
ZOWIE HAUGAARD the story white noise takes place in a town called blacksmith, sometime durring the early 80's. the author astablishes the setting clearly, but doesnt realy say when the story takes place. the mood of the book is kind of light hearted and/or melencholy, with no real emotion. this mood is created mostly by the unasertive and quiet temperament of the main character. we get no feeling of urgency or genuine interest in the events that happen around him. ZOWIE HAUGAARD
This book it set on an island in the present day. The author is always mentioning the island and the benefits of it being so small-the island can manage to not need much technology. The mood seems to be very hopeful and cautious/shy. The three main characters are hoping that the other likes them as more than a friend but are unsure of how to act around each other.
This story takes place in a city called McClure, Thirteen centuries into the future. The author does not really explain if it is a happy city or not but he goes into great detail when it comes to the appearance of the city. The mood of this story is constantly changing however, there are no positive moods at all in this story. The moods that you get from this story are serious, tragic and extremely grim. The author of this story establishes the mood of this story through events that take place in the story. In one scene of the story, the main character, Sumner Kagan, is reminiscing about his previous killings against those that have caused him any harm.
Setting- The setting of the book jumps around to many different places. It begins in her spice shop in Oakland and moves around to her talking about her childhood life in a different country. The setting then changes to the ocean and then to an island where she makes the decision to become a mistress. There is no specific time period that this story takes place in and the author reveals the information of the setting through Tilo when she tells her different stories.
Mood- The mood of this story changes back and forth from a wonderful and joyous life to a miserable life as a mistress. However, when a young American boy walks into her shop one day, she becomes very interested in him and begins to tell him about different spices. I think that this moment in the story gives her a different outlook on being a mistress since she seems to be filled with a little more hope after they met. The author tells the mood through Tilo's emotions and how she feels about the boy. She talks about how sincere the boy was and that he wasn't some random kid that didn't appreciate what she did. And this impacted her to become a little more cheerful.
the setting of the story takes place in Holcomb, Kansas. The main date of the story is on November 15, 1959. This important and tragic date is when the Clutter family was murdered. The setting of the book is told by following each member of the Clutter family. One example of this was when it mainly focused on Herb Clutter and then it started to focus on Nancy Clutter.
In the beginning of the story the mood that is exentuated is happiness and calm. Then the story begins to change because it starts to get more dramatic and it changes the mood from happy to depressed. This is because it starts to focus more on the murder of the Clutter family, which is very tragic and depressing. It is also very depressing because Herb's wife is very lonely which makes the story a little more sad. She explains that her children are very independent and there truly no reason for her to be there. Also, most of the time Herb is working so she rarely sees him and she feels as though she had nothing to live for.
1. The story takes place in Alice's twenty first summer, and her sister's and Paul's twenty fourth. The settings are mainly around the sisters' parents beach house in their small, childhood town and on the beaches. The author reveals this throughout the story, everyone seems to know each other in the community and almost everyday the characters either end up going to the beach or staying at home. She also gives off a small town feeling through their shared memories as kids.
2. The mood seems to stay in the realm of young and innocent love, everyone has a little confusion as to how other people feel about them but are all afraid to confront each other and their problems head on. However, each person is hopeful for something to prosper.
3. She establishes the mood by switching views from one character to another. This way we are able to understand and get a glimpse of everyone's side of the story setting the mood. When she makes the switches we find out how each person individually feels about another and what their relationship is like and how they view each other.
1. Helicopter-any of a class of heavier-than-air craft that are lifted and sustained in the air horizontally by rotating wings or blades turning on vertical axes through power supplied by an engine.
2. sergeant- a police officer ranking immediately below a captain or a lieutenant in the U.S.
3. Military Draft- 1969 U.S. draft lottery for 19 year old men during the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia.
4. Pilot - Aeronautics. a person duly qualified to operate an airplane, balloon, or other aircraft.
The Protagonist is a young man 18 years old who has been jumping between schools. After his parents died in a airplane crash, he started drinking and not caring about school. Tom is raised from his older brother, and he is the one that gave him the idea of becoming a helicopter pilot instead of getting pulled into infantry. Tom dosn't mind the military because it keeps him occupied, and out of trouble. and once he starts flying he finally begins to appreciate working for something
I think that the central idea/ theme of The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy is that of seeing how far people can be tested until they go insane. The book starts off with the end of the planet Earth. Though the main character and his friend who are both from Earth survive, they think that they are the only surviving inhabitants of earth. The main character, Arthur Dent, is possibly the last person from the entire human species that is left alive. Then as if losing your home planet is not enough, then Arthur Dent goes through a series of other tests such as being on a spaceship that is set on a course to head straight into the sun and has no internal controls that are usable. He is also put into a box which shows someone the true scale of the galaxy against them and how small and insignificant they really are. This is designed to drive someone utterly insane, yet he survives unscathed. the plot helps me to understand the major themes because it shows how someone reacts emotionally to bad circumstances. How they react was the theme of the novel. he was constantly in abysmal circumstances and was never aware of the impending doom that he was sure to come across.
The Protagonist in my story is named Winston Smith. Smith lives in a world that is controlled by a government that controls just about every aspect of your everyday life. He works for a place called the Ministry of Truth and lives in some ratty apartment building in which he tries to keep to himself as best he can while writing in his diary about the government known as the Party.
ZOWIE HAUGAARD the central theme oof the book white noise is the american family/culture. the book is based around the lives of the protagonist and his family. (note: i dont actualy know my protagonist's name. it isnt directly mentioned.) this theme is shown in how the member's of the family interact witheachother, sometimes kind or agressive and BELIGERENT. the book expresses the idea of the structure of the american family in the way that parent and child interact.at some times the family is a group of people working together, an ENTOURAGE commited to a single goal,or else a grouping of sworn enemies, endlessly attempting to COUP power and outdo eachother. yet, in the eye of a momentous CATASTROPHE, the airborne toxic event, they cometogether to protect and help eachother. i believe that the story realy embodies how the family in our culture opperates. the conversations, disagreements, love, lotheing, respect, and disrespect that defines the family. the ideas of consumerism and advertizing that are discussed in the novel are also supportive of our modern ideas about the family. the plot and the characters are the driving forces that realy define this theme ZOWIE HAUGAARD
I think that the main important theme of my story, The Golden Compass, is the theme of loyalty and friendship. I have come to this conclusion by observing just how Lyra and her DAEMON Pantalaimon behave throughout the story. From the very beginning to where I am now in the book, those two have been there for each other whenever one of them has been faced with a problem that they could not have possibly overcome on just their own.
For example, when Lyra was trapped in the wardrobe in the beginning, Pan who was in the form of a moth at the time could have flown away. Instead, he stayed with her and kept her awake. This was a very large risk to take since if they were caught, they surely would have been beaten severely.
Another example was when Lyra's friend was captured by the GOBBLER'S she and Pan made sure that they freed him before doing anything else. They risked their lives for him even though he had nothing to give them in his thanks.
It is for these stated reasons that I beleive that the main theme of my story is friendship and loyalty. My two vocab words in case you didn't see them were DAEMON and GOBBLER. Sorry but this thing doesn't let people underline stuff XD.
I think that the central idea of the novel is compassion. Even though the Tilo is not supposed to help the Americans, she shows compassion for the American boy that takes interest in her shop filled with cypress and the linoleum floors. I think that even though I have not finished reading the book, the American boy and Tilo will become very good friends. The connection that the author established between them seemed very strong. I also think that this is the beginning of the conflict. Since she is not supposed to help other people this will cause her to make a choice in life. This choice may be to break her promise that she took before she became a mistress. But this compassion will cause her to want to break that promise because she will be emotionally attached to the boy. Tilo has also left her shop to step out into the streets for her friend. This is another thing that she was not supposed to do. That might lead to more appearances outside of her shop. However, this is a good thing for her because it means that people like her and she is making friendships with others.
I believe that the main themes in my novel, "The Winter Garden," is intrigue and a sort of an emotional journey through a chain of events, and from the mother revealing her past heartbreaking story. This true story of her past that she tells is a tale that she tells within the base story. The sense of intrigue is from her daughters wondering about who their true distant Russian mother is.. This journey also brings the daughters, Meredith and Nina, closer to their mother Anya. An example of this developing relationship, was on the fathers death bed, his death wish was for "The ladies in his family to become closer, and for Anya to finish her tale about the prince." When Anya started to tell her tale "The Prince" she did not express much ZEAL. Also after the ladies DISSIPATED the dear fathers ashes, it was like they were unfolding a new leaf. After the ashes were dissipated, Meredith, Nina, and Anya were suRprised about the ACQUIESCENCE that they felt, and they likewise felt like they were embarking on a new chapter in their lives. Before the scattering of the ashes, Meredith felt that SUPPRESSION was the only thing that could get her through the difficult and emotional time of losing her father.
I think the theme/central idea of "The Last Summer (of You & Me) is love. The theme of love repeats itself throughout the reading so far. The love connection between Alice and Paul is one example; they both show signs of love. The way Paul looked at Alice when he visited her while she was sleeping showed how much he loves her. Alice also bravely told Paul that she was ready to lose her virginity to him. There is another example of love and that is the sisterhood between Alice and Riley. When Riley was sick in bed, Alice really cared about her. She went on about what Riley needed in order to make her feel better. Riley was a bit irritated but forgot all about it a second later. She can never be mad at Alice longer than a short amount of time, she's never grudging. Last example would be the love of friendship. Riley and Paul has been best friends since they were very little and now, being adults, they are still close. They would send back letters when summers would end, Paul was the only person Riley would send letters to.
In the book, “RADIX” there are many themes such as betrayal or happiness but I think the central idea of this story is the idea of friendship or kindness. I came to this conclusion because in the story, Sumner Kagan, the protagonist, was always abused as a child. His father had also taught him how to kill people, making him very isolated from everyone else. It also does not help that he is incongruous because of his obesity. However, recently Sumner Kagan discovered that not everyone in life will cringe away by merely glancing at him. Kagan first discovered kindness/ friendship when he met his “special” son named Corby. Rather than running away from Kagan, he welcomes him with warm arms. What really helps me understand this theme in the book is the various reactions of the characters in the book. In the book, Corby has certain abilities that make people experience phantasmagoric images and he used those to connect with his father even more. Another experience is when he meets an artificial man named Nefandi. Although he is more of an antagonist, he is still one of the first few beings that had shown Kagan kindness by offering him food after escaping from the authorities. Although Sumner Kagan does not react very well to people that show him kindness, he is warming up to the idea that people are capable of kindness to some extent.
The main idea of the novel is trying to break away from an oppressive system. For Winston, this is incredibly difficulty, with a government that is omnipresent. Winston is starting to hate the Party with a passion, and is breaking away from the normal activities. These include going to more ratty parts of town, buying illegal objects, and trying to find the truth about the history of Oceania. The risk is massive, as BIG BROTHER is always watching, and he can get caught and killed. He has to keep an inscrutable expression, as he is being monitored at every turn.
The story, in cold blood has a major theme and that is tragedy. The Clutter family did so much for their friends, town, and overall the community. They were the most generous and well-respected family in all of Holcomb, Kansas. They were also fairly well treated in Garden City where some of the Clitters would occasionally SOJOURN to do different activities. They truly did help the community be better and that's why it was so tragic when they were brutally murdered for no reason. The murderers had no explatiomg why they would kill such a genuinely nice family. The Clutter's were simply perfect and they were notGAUNT or had any problem with them physically or mentally. The murderers did not have any motive to kill them, but they did and killed one of the sweetestjj families in Holdomb, Kansas.
I think the theme the author portreys through this story is to not let fear into your head. I think this because perry and peewee are so scared before they go on there first mission they almost pass out. They have a talk on the chopper about fear and that they will certainly be killed if they allow it into there heads. During the mission, they feel not even the slightest bit of fear and are succesful in the mission. This theme is a central theme through out this book so far. They meet many people along their journey who are frozen out of fear and desperation. I think the author is trying to portrey the message that we should not let fear into our lives and by doing that we will be able to focus more vividly on life.
Another theme the Author migh be displaying is that of companionship. Peewee and Perry now do everything together and feel safe around each other. Also by having a friend like this, they are able to put fear aside due to the safety they provide for eachother. I personally think that it is vital to have at least one friend like this, that you can completely trust.
The Most obvious theme of “The Last Summer” is love and the passing of time. Love is a major theme because the three main characters Alice, Riley, and Paul all love each other in different ways. At one point Paul even wonders how many types of love there are (page 112). However all their love grows and changes as time passes. This brings the theme of passing time. As time goes on everything changes. This is most obvious in the case of Alice and Paul. When they were younger their love was that of siblings almost. Mow that the two of them are adults their love has changes to a much more advance stage. They not only love each other but are lovers. Another powerful example of love changing would be Paul’s mother. As time passes, Paul’s mother no longer wants the edifice on the beach. This house is now simply a painful vestige of the time when her husband was alive. As time goes on all types of feelings change. “The Last Summer” tends to focus on the change love goes through as people get older and more time passes. This makes both love and the passing of time themes in this particular book.
In "The Last Summer," there seems to be the theme of friendship vs. love. Back when they were little they all used to hang out with each other like it was their own little adventurers club. Alice always tagged along like a third wheel who only sometimes joined in the fun because she always seemed to find a solemnity in their games that kept her from playing. However, everything started to change as they began to grow up. On top of them growing love also sprung into action and unspoken covenants were being made which slowly seemed to tear them apart at the seams. They all care for each other more than themselves that they sometimes end up hurting the person or people that they did not want to hurt in order to protect them. Take for example Paul, he supposedly loved Alice so much that he felt he should leave the island for a couple of years to protect her from him because he thought that she deserved better than him. He did all of this while fully knowing that Alice already loved him at the time. Within this book lines seem to be crossed between friendship and love. Both sisters love Paul but Paul only loves Alice and sees Riley as a best friend and with them all looking out for each other’s feelings things could easily be ruined. Riley, in fact, later realizes Paul’s and Alice’s feelings when catching them on a beach together and becomes confused about hers. She feels that she will be left out and probably at the same time hurt that Paul chose Alice. With mixed feelings in everyone and friendship’s and lovers at risk only time can tell what will become of this love story.
One major theme in this book is hte theme of fear. This is important because of how much is affects the characters in my story. This is because the characters, Perry and Peewee are fighting in the Vietnam war and the fear of being attacked is always in their minds. It is also an important theme because these soldiers are trained to to feel fear and use it to help them in war.
Another theme that is important in this story is the theme of death. This is an important theme in this story because death is such a big part in the book because of the Vietnam war. In a place like Vietnam during this time period, death is a common reality and soldiers grow accustom to it.
Congratulations, Ms. Sefton! You've just created your first blog!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy book is the Golden Compass Phillip Pullman
ReplyDeleteBrandon
The protagonist is named Alice. She is the younger sister of Riley and good friend to Paul. Alice is a very patient and forgiving person. She welcomes people back in her life even after years of them being away. She is very trusting to her sister and Paul. Alice follows the people she trusts and will never turn against them. She is good at cutting hair but has long brown hair herself. She knows when it is appropriate to tell others what she knows and when to keep her mouth shut. She is brave and caring towards her friends. Alice is not always sure of the right thing to do making her shy to the people she cares about. She knows that Paul likes her but is not sure what way he likes her in. Alice seems like a good person overall.
ReplyDeleteJustine Malek
The protagonist of my story is Winston Smith. He was born and raised in London, although he remember very little about his childhood. London is controlled by a totalitarian regime, where almost everything you do is monitored and controlled by The Party. Winston works as a clerk in the records department at the Ministry of Truth. He lives in a broken down apartment building, built in 1913. He has very little money, and sometimes has to skip meals due to it. Through the beginning chapters, he starts to question The Party. He begins to write about his feeling about The Party by creating a diary, a rare item. For just using the diary, he could be sentenced to death by the government, or imprisoned for years.
ReplyDeleteSean Jensen
The protagonist in "RADIX" is called Sumner Kagen. He is morbidly obese making him very unappealing to all men and women. He compares himself to his car saying that they are both very similar. His car always covered in grime and there are remnants of food all over the floor. He is very unkempt and tried to grow a beard but it made him look like he had a disease. As a character, Sumner can be identified as a type of serial killer. He takes great pleasure in killing people that have caused him in harm in some kind of way. His need for killing people that have harmed him started out as seeking revenge but then he discovered that he not only enjoyed killing these people but he was able to do it without leaving any kind of evidence. Sumner enjoys murdering people but the only thing he enjoys more is causing dread in people. The problem is that he can't take credit for what he has done so instead he awards himself with various forms of pleasure. At this point it is hard to tell whether or not he is a "good" person but it can be agreed that there is something wrong with him that will be revealed.
ReplyDeleteShane Kiyota
The protagonist is Alice. She is 21 years old and has an older sister named Riley who is 24 years old. They are closer than how sisters usually are. They both have a close friend named Paul, who is also 24. Every summer, Alice and her family would stay at their beach house where the two sisters grew up with Paul. Alice has been in love with him ever since she was young. However, she's been shy around him ever since he returned to town after 3 years of absence. Alice is a sweet young woman. She is a caring and passionate girl who enjoys knitting and braiding her long hair. She is also a help to her sister and friends when they are in need of a haircut. Alice is a type of girl you cannot get easily mad at.
ReplyDeleteYuka Inaba
The protagonist is Tilo who also goes by many other different names throughout the story. She is the owner of a spice shop and claims that she has the best shop in the world. She is an old mistress that says she has a young personality but is faced with an elderly body. The story then transitions to her talking about her younger life. When she grew up she was faced with a hard and poor life. But when she gains the ability to foretell the future and other powers she had people trembling in fear of her. Because of this, she lived a great childhood. She was rich and her parents did not complain about the things that she did because they were also living a good life because of her popularity. Tilo is also a person that expects that everything will go right for her. But her personality and outlook on life is greatly changed when she is kidnapped by pirates and her influence has no affect on them. But when she regains her powers, she quickly seizes control over them and becomes the queen of the pirates. I think that this changes her personality to a more rugged way of doing things because she is living a pirate life.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, the main protagonist in the beginning of "The Last Summer," seems to be Alice. She is twenty one years old and the younger sister to another protagonist in the book, named Riley. Alice, has long hair which she likes to braid and many splinters on the bottom of her feet just like everyone else in her town because of the splintering boardwalk. Her best friend, the third and final protagonist is her crush who's been gone for three years, named Paul; who she is also younger than. She seems to be blindly in love with Paul, who unfortunately treats her badly and forgets about her. She has a more calm and shy personality compared to that of her sister's and Paul's who are more open and social. Riley is strikingly adventurous and loves to swim just like Paul who she is also in love with. However, Paul is also more free-spirited and feels less obligated to follow his responsibilities or commitments. Paul had long brown hair after leaving for three years until Alice cut it short for him when he came back. Even though he looks like he displays everything out in the open for everyone in the open, in truth he can be a very private person who's hides things about himself.
ReplyDeleteIn the hitchhhikers guide to the galaxy the protagonist is Arthur Dent. Arthur is a very stubborn man who decides what will happen to him and then makes sure that whatever he had previously decided would happen. An example is that his house was going to be bulldozed down to make room for a new highway. Arthur decides that he wants to keep his house and lies down in front of the bulldozer to stop it. Visually, he is very normal and average in almost every way. It is his friend, Ford Prefect, that is abnormal. Ford is different because he was born hundreds of light years away from the planet Earth. He convinces the man driving the bulldozer to get off of the bulldozer and lie in front of it so that it cannot move while Ford and Arthur go off to a bar to get something to drink. While they are at the bar Ford asks the bartender to hurry up because the world will be destroyed in two minutes. This actually happens. Ford and Arthur are the only citizens of Earth that survived.
ReplyDeleteThe protagonist of my story is a man named Perry. It is unknown so far how old he is and his place of birth. He had run away from his dis-functional family to join the war in vietnam. He is unsure why he wanted to join the army but wanted to get away from his family. On the airplane shipping the fresh recruits over to Vietnam he meets a man who calls himself Peewee. They immediately become companions. For the first section of the book, they ask each other why they wanted to join the army. They also tell each other about their past lives and what they desired to become after the war. So far this book is turning out to be a very interesting and captivating story. I'm glad I chose this book.
ReplyDeleteJulian Rimm
The protagonist in the book "In Cold Blood" is Herbert Clutter. He is a very caring father and husband. Herb is also a very wealth farmer who lives in Holcomb, Kansas. He haf four children and a wife. He is a very intelligent man and is caring. His children and wife are also very respectful. His eldest children are Eveanna and Beverly. The two younger siblings are Kenyon and Nancy.
ReplyDeleteCiara Thyne
My book is Fallen Angles by Walter Dean Myers
ReplyDeleteMy book is Fallen Angles by Walter Dean Myer
ReplyDeleteKeoni Grundhauser
and now for something completely different....
ReplyDelete"The Last Summer"
ReplyDelete1. Covenant(n)- An agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified.
Book Ex: "What did not accord with the covenant Paul did not tell Riley and Alice"(Pg. 26)
2. Patina(n)- A film or incrustation, usually green, produced by oxidation on the surface of old bronze and often esteemed as being of ornamental value.
Book Ex: "The floor had a patina of spilled soda and sticky bare feet." (Pg. 33)
3. Solemnity(n)- The state or character of being solemn; earnestness; gravity; impressiveness.
Book Ex: "There was always a solemnity to these proceedings, which tickled Alice a little and was probably the reason she hadn't become a lifeguard." (Pg. 43)
4. Pontoon(n)- (Military) A boat or some other floating structure used as one of the supports for a temporary bridge over a river.
Book Ex: "The boat was already heeled over onto one pontoon." (Pg. 49)
Doublethink (n)- A simultaneous belief in two contradictory ideas. Ex: All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. 'Reality control', they called it: in Newspeak, 'doublethink'.
ReplyDeleteBig Brother (n)- The leader of an authoritarian state or movement. Ex: He tried to remember in what year he had first heard mention of Big Brother.
Inscrutable (adj)- Not readily investigated, interpreted, or understood. Ex: His face remained completely inscrutable. Never show dismay!
Varicose (adj)- Abnormally swollen or dilated. Ex: His veins had swelled with the effort of the cough, and the varicose ulcer had started itching.
Tara said...
ReplyDeleteSwitched book to The Winter Garden, by: Kristen Hannah
1. Dissapate (v): disperse or scatter. Ex: She wished that they could come together, dissipate some of this pain by pooling it.
2. Suppression (n): the action of suppressing something such as an activity or publication. Ex. Only its supression would get her through these hard times.
3. Zeal (n): great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. Ex. So she went on, smiling brightly at work and moving from one chore to the next with a desperate zeal.
4. Acquiescence (v): accept something reluctantly but without protest. Ex. It was much easier than she thought it would be, and she was surprised by the acquiescence.
1. Filigreed: delicate ornamental work of fine silver, gold, or other metal wires, esp. lacy jewelers' work of scrolls and arabesques.
ReplyDelete"She leaned back against the filigreed table, suddenly feeling very heavy."
2. Incongruously: out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming.
"He had a straight fierce mouth and incongruously dreamy eyes."
3. Phantasmagoric: a shifting series of phantasms, illusions, or deceptive appearances, as in a dream or as created by the imagination.
"Sumner stared dumbfounded at the ghost city and its phantasmagoric shapes until the rickety truck suddenly swung off the rimroad."
4. Couloir: a steep, narrow gully on a mountainside.
“Corby started down a couloir that sliced through the steep incline of the rise and descended abruptly to the basin below.”
Shane Kiyota
1. catastrophe
ReplyDeletea momentous tragic event ranging from extreme misfortune to utter overthrow or ruin
"Only a catastrophe gets our attention."
2. entourage
one's attendants or associates
"... interviewed members of the King's entourage and family,...."
3. coup
overturn, upset
"a mare than middling coup, Murray conceded."
4.belligerent
inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness
"her features, crowded somewhat in the center of her face, gave to her moments of concentration a puggish and half-belligernt look."
how to tell differnt types of trees from quite a long ways away. number one. the lark. the lark. thelark. the.....lark.
ReplyDelete"The Last Summer (of You and Me)"
ReplyDeleteto·pol·o·gy
–noun
1. the study of those properties of geometric forms that remain invariant under certain transformations, as bending or stretching.
“As a band of children, they had laid a magical world over the topology of this skinny place, spread it from ocean to bay.” Page 23
pre·emp·tive
–adjective
1.of or pertaining to preemption.
2.taken as a measure against something possible, anticipated, or feared; preventive; deterrent: a preemptive tactic against a ruthless business rival.
“By siding with an early version of yourself, preemptively, you would doubt all future selves that conflicted with it.” Page 26
pat·i·na
–noun
1.a film or incrustation, usually green, produced by oxidation on the surface of old bronze and often esteemed as being of ornamental value.
“The floor had a patina of spilled soda and sticky bare feet.” Page 33
ed·i·fice
–noun
1.a building, esp. one of large size or imposing appearance.
2.any large, complex system or organization.
“And so it remained an edifice in memory only—growing thereby larger and more skillfully built with time.” Page 40
ves·tige
–noun
1.a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence: A few columns were the last vestiges of a Greek temple.
“It was a vestige from past walks when they used to help each other with their collections.” Page 41
Patina (n)- a green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals, produced by oxidation over a long period.
ReplyDelete"The floor had a patina of spilled soda and sticky bare feet." (p.g 33)
Sporadically (adj)- occurring at irregular intervals or only in a few places; scattered or isolated.
"The Ping-Pong table on the other side of the room was given its proper use only sporadically, when someone remembered to get balls on the mainland." (p.g 33)
Cellulite (n)- persistent subcutaneous fat causing dimpling of the skin, esp. on women's hips and thighs.
"She never showed girly weaknesses like cellulite or crushes." (p.g 44)
Pontoon (n)- a flat-bottomed boat or hollow metal cylinder used with others to support a temporary bridge or floating landing stage.
"The boat was already heeled over onto one pontoon." (p.g 49)
The Last Summer (of You and Me)
-Yuka Inaba
1) Parameter: a limit or boundary that defines the scope of a particular process or activity
ReplyDeleteThe Mssion Parameters clearly stated not to kill any civilians
2) Ultimatum: a final demand or statement of terms, the rejection of which will result in retaliation or a breakdown in relations
The Police officer gave the robber an ultimatum that he would shoot him if he did not put his hands in the air.
3) Abysmal: informal extremely bad;
The student's math test score abysmal.
4) impending: to be about to happen
The people who looked up at the airplanes were unaware of the impending doom that they brought.
Jiving: slang for teasing.
ReplyDeleteJiving and driving, looping and hooping, staying clean and being mean, the inside rover till the game was over.
Hooch: another word for barracks or housing.
Three guys from each hooch, which is what they called the barracks, had to volunteer for guard duty.
Agitating: to be anoying
They kept at it for a while, Peewee was agitated.
Firefight: An exchange of gunfire between two infantry units.
"I thought a firefiht was when you shoot at something."
Julian Rimm
1) Surmount- to mount upon; get on the top of; mount upon and cross over: to surmount a hill.
ReplyDeleteex: "Evinrude ranked above it, and surmounting even Evinrude was Bobby's signet Ring."
2) Cumbersome- burdensome; troublesome.
ex: "the signet ring was the cumbersome proof of her "going steady" status, which she wore.
3) Wan- showing or suggesting ill health, fatigue, unhappiness, etc.: a wan look; a wan smile.
ex: "When she had first appeared in Holcomb, a melancholy, imaginative child, willowy and wan and sensitive, then eight, a year younger than Nancy.
4) Reticent- disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved.
ex: "Thus, the girls were no longer always together, and Nancy deeply felt the daytime absence of her friend, the one person with who she need be neither brave nor reticent."
Ciara Thyne
1. Cypress- Any of various unrelated plants resembling the true cypress.
ReplyDelete"Still, sometimes I think I will try it, stand in evening mist at land's end in a grove of twisted cypress, among foghorns and black seals barking and sing to them."
2. Linoleum- A hard, washable floor covering formed by coating burlap or canvas with linseed oil, powdered cork, and rosin, adding pigments to create the desired colors and patterns.
"His feet fly over the worn linoleum, almost not touching."
3. Salaaming- A salutation meaning "peace," used especially in Islamic countries.
"From the first time when he came into the shop behind haughty-hipped Mrs. K, finding and piling up and carrying and salaaming but always the rueful amusement in his eyes saying, I am playing at this only for awhile."
4. Wraith- An apparition of a living person supposed to portend his or her death.
"They become water wraiths, spirits of water and salt, crying in the voices of gulls."
Yuka Inaba
ReplyDeleteIn "The Last Summer (of You & Me)," the setting takes place during the summer at Fire Island, "a small village on a small island with customs and rules on its own. "No keys, no wallet, no shoes" was the saying that expressed their summer way of life."" (p.g 4). People walked instead of using vehicles. Most scenes from the book are from the beaches, the yacht club, Alice and Riley's beach house, and Paul's.
I think the mood of this novel is part sensual. The author establishes this mood by this description: "He [Paul] was thrown by the way he had seen her the night before, so much of her shivering in the moonlight. He was thrown further by how his body had respondeed to the sight of her body. He was ashamed now, in that morning-after-way, of all the pleasures that his sleeping mind had come up with." (p.g 59)
Paul had seen Alice half naked last night, with her arms covered over her breasts.
Yuka Inaba
COLEBY HANISCH
ReplyDeleteThe setting of my book is mostly in a spaceship and the various places that the spaceship stops.
The mood of the book is very humorous and not at all serious.
The author sets the mood by having the main characters constantly having humourous mishaps that never really put them in peril.
COLEBY HANISCH
Mrs. Sefton is Awesome!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis novel takes place in Vietnam in 1967. the Author describes the setting in the beggining of the story. I would say the mood of this novel is both humorous and serious. The writer is constantly making jokes and lightening the mood but at the same time Peewee and Perry are also scared of dying in combat.
ReplyDeleteJulian Rimm
Hello ms. sefton
ReplyDeleteThe protagonist in my story, Fallen Angelse by Walter Dean Myers is named Perry. Perry is also the narrator of this story. HE comes from a poor back ground and does not have very much growing up. In he story one comment that he makes is the the army is the first place were he got what everyone else got, referring to his his child hood when other kids had allot more than him.
KEoni Grundhauser
In my novel Fallen Angles by Walter Dean Myers the setting takes place in Vietnam in the late 60's during the time of the Vietnam war. The mood in this story is humorous and various characters around Perry and peewees camp make humorous jokes of there situation, even though they are in the most dangerous climate in the world at the time.
ReplyDeleteKeoni Grundhauser
Orientated; Verb; Familiarize
ReplyDeletebarracks;noun; a building or group of buildings for lodging soldiers, esp. in garrison.
Ration; noun; a fixed allowance of provisions or food, esp. for soldiers or sailors or for civilians during a shortage
Infantry; noun; soldiers or military units that fight on foot, in modern times typically with rifles, machine guns, grenades, mortars, etc., as weapons.
Keoni Grundhauser
BRANDON
ReplyDeleteDaemon: Your soul in an animal form.
Manservant: Another word for butler.
Theology: Study of a god.
Gobblers: People who kidnap children.
BRANDON
ReplyDeleteThe setting of the novel so far, is a boarding school. The setting/atmosphere is slightly humorous, but tense at the same time. What I mean by this, is that Lyra and her daemon Pan are constantly joking around with each other, and breaking rules of the school, but it is also tense, because if they were to be caught breaking the rules, they would be beaten severely.
homework from a few nights ago...
ReplyDeleteThe protagonist is the mother Anya Whitson. She is a russian immigrant, and has a very strained relationship with her two daughters. While the father/ her husband was alive, he was able to hold the very different family together; but now that he is dead, the two daughters (Nina and Meredith Whitson) need to obey his last wish on his deathbed: to become closer with their mother. Through the tales that the mother tells, and so far the dilemmas that she has caused, it is bringing the family together. She is a very difficult person to get along with, and is very stubborn. In the story, I have yet to find out why it is that the mother chooses not try very hard on working on the relationships with her daughters..? Hopefully as the story progresses, more will be reveiled about the mothers secret past, etc.
~Tara M. "The Winter Garden"
Setting: The family runs an orchard called "Belye Noche" on the bank of the Columbia River... this was revealed in the first chapter of the book.
ReplyDeleteMood: The mood of this book is a mixture between: desire, intrigue, a bit of romance, and somewhat tragic. Although these words don't pay this book enough tribute, but it is close to it.
Moooood from author: We get the feelings of desire and intrigue from the distant russian mother, and from the interesting tales that she tells, and from these tales we get very small details that relate to the mother. These details are helping to reveal little bits of the secretive past of the mothers life in Russia. The tragedy is when the father (who held the very different family together) died of a heart attack in the beginning of the novel.
~ Tara "The Winter Garden"
The story takes place in London, which is revealed by the main character early in the book. The atmosphere is dark and drab, with a lot of coverups and conspiracies in the government. However, there are many people who fully support the Party, and have a happy tone. The atmosphere is described mostly through the state of the buildings that Winston sees, or even lives in. The mood of all the people and lack of basic supplies such as razors make it seem very dark.
ReplyDeleteZOWIE HAUGAARD
ReplyDeletethe story white noise takes place in a town called blacksmith, sometime durring the early 80's. the author astablishes the setting clearly, but doesnt realy say when the story takes place.
the mood of the book is kind of light hearted and/or melencholy, with no real emotion. this mood is created mostly by the unasertive and quiet temperament of the main character. we get no feeling of urgency or genuine interest in the events that happen around him.
ZOWIE HAUGAARD
This book it set on an island in the present day. The author is always mentioning the island and the benefits of it being so small-the island can manage to not need much technology. The mood seems to be very hopeful and cautious/shy. The three main characters are hoping that the other likes them as more than a friend but are unsure of how to act around each other.
ReplyDeleteJUSTINE MALEK
This story takes place in a city called McClure, Thirteen centuries into the future. The author does not really explain if it is a happy city or not but he goes into great detail when it comes to the appearance of the city. The mood of this story is constantly changing however, there are no positive moods at all in this story. The moods that you get from this story are serious, tragic and extremely grim. The author of this story establishes the mood of this story through events that take place in the story. In one scene of the story, the main character, Sumner Kagan, is reminiscing about his previous killings against those that have caused him any harm.
ReplyDeleteSHANE KIYOTA
Setting- The setting of the book jumps around to many different places. It begins in her spice shop in Oakland and moves around to her talking about her childhood life in a different country. The setting then changes to the ocean and then to an island where she makes the decision to become a mistress. There is no specific time period that this story takes place in and the author reveals the information of the setting through Tilo when she tells her different stories.
ReplyDeleteMood- The mood of this story changes back and forth from a wonderful and joyous life to a miserable life as a mistress. However, when a young American boy walks into her shop one day, she becomes very interested in him and begins to tell him about different spices. I think that this moment in the story gives her a different outlook on being a mistress since she seems to be filled with a little more hope after they met. The author tells the mood through Tilo's emotions and how she feels about the boy. She talks about how sincere the boy was and that he wasn't some random kid that didn't appreciate what she did. And this impacted her to become a little more cheerful.
CHASE MATAYOSHI
the setting of the story takes place in Holcomb, Kansas. The main date of the story is on November 15, 1959. This important and tragic date is when the Clutter family was murdered. The setting of the book is told by following each member of the Clutter family. One example of this was when it mainly focused on Herb Clutter and then it started to focus on Nancy Clutter.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the story the mood that is exentuated is happiness and calm. Then the story begins to change because it starts to get more dramatic and it changes the mood from happy to depressed. This is because it starts to focus more on the murder of the Clutter family, which is very tragic and depressing. It is also very depressing because Herb's wife is very lonely which makes the story a little more sad. She explains that her children are very independent and there truly no reason for her to be there. Also, most of the time Herb is working so she rarely sees him and she feels as though she had nothing to live for.
Ciara Thyne
"The Last Summer"
ReplyDelete1. The story takes place in Alice's twenty first summer, and her sister's and Paul's twenty fourth. The settings are mainly around the sisters' parents beach house in their small, childhood town and on the beaches. The author reveals this throughout the story, everyone seems to know each other in the community and almost everyday the characters either end up going to the beach or staying at home. She also gives off a small town feeling through their shared memories as kids.
2. The mood seems to stay in the realm of young and innocent love, everyone has a little confusion as to how other people feel about them but are all afraid to confront each other and their problems head on. However, each person is hopeful for something to prosper.
3. She establishes the mood by switching views from one character to another. This way we are able to understand and get a glimpse of everyone's side of the story setting the mood. When she makes the switches we find out how each person individually feels about another and what their relationship is like and how they view each other.
ALEX CHAPPLE
ReplyDeleteVocab
1. Helicopter-any of a class of heavier-than-air craft that are lifted and sustained in the air horizontally by rotating wings or blades turning on vertical axes through power supplied by an engine.
2. sergeant- a police officer ranking immediately below a captain or a lieutenant in the U.S.
3. Military Draft- 1969 U.S. draft lottery for 19 year old men during the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia.
4. Pilot - Aeronautics. a person duly qualified to operate an airplane, balloon, or other aircraft.
ALEX CHAPPLE
ReplyDeleteThe Protagonist is a young man 18 years old who has been jumping between schools. After his parents died in a airplane crash, he started drinking and not caring about school. Tom is raised from his older brother, and he is the one that gave him the idea of becoming a helicopter pilot instead of getting pulled into infantry. Tom dosn't mind the military because it keeps him occupied, and out of trouble. and once he starts flying he finally begins to appreciate working for something
I think that the central idea/ theme of The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy is that of seeing how far people can be tested until they go insane. The book starts off with the end of the planet Earth. Though the main character and his friend who are both from Earth survive, they think that they are the only surviving inhabitants of earth. The main character, Arthur Dent, is possibly the last person from the entire human species that is left alive. Then as if losing your home planet is not enough, then Arthur Dent goes through a series of other tests such as being on a spaceship that is set on a course to head straight into the sun and has no internal controls that are usable. He is also put into a box which shows someone the true scale of the galaxy against them and how small and insignificant they really are. This is designed to drive someone utterly insane, yet he survives unscathed.
ReplyDeletethe plot helps me to understand the major themes because it shows how someone reacts emotionally to bad circumstances. How they react was the theme of the novel. he was constantly in abysmal circumstances and was never aware of the impending doom that he was sure to come across.
The Protagonist in my story is named Winston Smith. Smith lives in a world that is controlled by a government that controls just about every aspect of your everyday life. He works for a place called the Ministry of Truth and lives in some ratty apartment building in which he tries to keep to himself as best he can while writing in his diary about the government known as the Party.
ReplyDeleteZOWIE HAUGAARD
ReplyDeletethe central theme oof the book white noise is the american family/culture. the book is based around the lives of the protagonist and his family. (note: i dont actualy know my protagonist's name. it isnt directly mentioned.) this theme is shown in how the member's of the family interact witheachother, sometimes kind or agressive and BELIGERENT. the book expresses the idea of the structure of the american family in the way that parent and child interact.at some times the family is a group of people working together, an ENTOURAGE commited to a single goal,or else a grouping of sworn enemies, endlessly attempting to COUP power and outdo eachother. yet, in the eye of a momentous CATASTROPHE, the airborne toxic event, they cometogether to protect and help eachother.
i believe that the story realy embodies how the family in our culture opperates. the conversations, disagreements, love, lotheing, respect, and disrespect that defines the family. the ideas of consumerism and advertizing that are discussed in the novel are also supportive of our modern ideas about the family. the plot and the characters are the driving forces that realy define this theme
ZOWIE HAUGAARD
Sanguine(adj) Reddish; ruddy. His face was naturally Sanguine.
ReplyDeleteCorrugated(adj) Wrinkled; Furrowed. Their windows patched with cardboard and their roofs of Corrugated iron
Sordid(adj) Wretchedly poor and run-down. Sordid housing.
Tableaux(noun) A picture, as of a scene. nothing remained of his childhood except a series of bright-lit Tableaux
BRANDON
ReplyDeleteI think that the main important theme of my story, The Golden Compass, is the theme of loyalty and friendship. I have come to this conclusion by observing just how Lyra and her DAEMON Pantalaimon behave throughout the story. From the very beginning to where I am now in the book, those two have been there for each other whenever one of them has been faced with a problem that they could not have possibly overcome on just their own.
For example, when Lyra was trapped in the wardrobe in the beginning, Pan who was in the form of a moth at the time could have flown away. Instead, he stayed with her and kept her awake. This was a very large risk to take since if they were caught, they surely would have been beaten severely.
Another example was when Lyra's friend was captured by the GOBBLER'S she and Pan made sure that they freed him before doing anything else. They risked their lives for him even though he had nothing to give them in his thanks.
It is for these stated reasons that I beleive that the main theme of my story is friendship and loyalty. My two vocab words in case you didn't see them were DAEMON and GOBBLER. Sorry but this thing doesn't let people underline stuff XD.
BRANDON
I think that the central idea of the novel is compassion. Even though the Tilo is not supposed to help the Americans, she shows compassion for the American boy that takes interest in her shop filled with cypress and the linoleum floors. I think that even though I have not finished reading the book, the American boy and Tilo will become very good friends. The connection that the author established between them seemed very strong. I also think that this is the beginning of the conflict. Since she is not supposed to help other people this will cause her to make a choice in life. This choice may be to break her promise that she took before she became a mistress. But this compassion will cause her to want to break that promise because she will be emotionally attached to the boy. Tilo has also left her shop to step out into the streets for her friend. This is another thing that she was not supposed to do. That might lead to more appearances outside of her shop. However, this is a good thing for her because it means that people like her and she is making friendships with others.
ReplyDeleteCHASE MATAYOSHI
TARA
ReplyDeleteI believe that the main themes in my novel, "The Winter Garden," is intrigue and a sort of an emotional journey through a chain of events, and from the mother revealing her past heartbreaking story. This true story of her past that she tells is a tale that she tells within the base story. The sense of intrigue is from her daughters wondering about who their true distant Russian mother is.. This journey also brings the daughters, Meredith and Nina, closer to their mother Anya. An example of this developing relationship, was on the fathers death bed, his death wish was for "The ladies in his family to become closer, and for Anya to finish her tale about the prince." When Anya started to tell her tale "The Prince" she did not express much ZEAL. Also after the ladies DISSIPATED the dear fathers ashes, it was like they were unfolding a new leaf. After the ashes were dissipated, Meredith, Nina, and Anya were suRprised about the ACQUIESCENCE that they felt, and they likewise felt like they were embarking on a new chapter in their lives. Before the scattering of the ashes, Meredith felt that SUPPRESSION was the only thing that could get her through the difficult and emotional time of losing her father.
BY: TARA "The Winter Garden"
YUKA INABA
ReplyDeleteI think the theme/central idea of "The Last Summer (of You & Me) is love. The theme of love repeats itself throughout the reading so far. The love connection between Alice and Paul is one example; they both show signs of love. The way Paul looked at Alice when he visited her while she was sleeping showed how much he loves her. Alice also bravely told Paul that she was ready to lose her virginity to him. There is another example of love and that is the sisterhood between Alice and Riley. When Riley was sick in bed, Alice really cared about her. She went on about what Riley needed in order to make her feel better. Riley was a bit irritated but forgot all about it a second later. She can never be mad at Alice longer than a short amount of time, she's never grudging. Last example would be the love of friendship. Riley and Paul has been best friends since they were very little and now, being adults, they are still close. They would send back letters when summers would end, Paul was the only person Riley would send letters to.
YUKA INABA
In the book, “RADIX” there are many themes such as betrayal or happiness but I think the central idea of this story is the idea of friendship or kindness. I came to this conclusion because in the story, Sumner Kagan, the protagonist, was always abused as a child. His father had also taught him how to kill people, making him very isolated from everyone else. It also does not help that he is incongruous because of his obesity. However, recently Sumner Kagan discovered that not everyone in life will cringe away by merely glancing at him. Kagan first discovered kindness/ friendship when he met his “special” son named Corby. Rather than running away from Kagan, he welcomes him with warm arms. What really helps me understand this theme in the book is the various reactions of the characters in the book. In the book, Corby has certain abilities that make people experience phantasmagoric images and he used those to connect with his father even more. Another experience is when he meets an artificial man named Nefandi. Although he is more of an antagonist, he is still one of the first few beings that had shown Kagan kindness by offering him food after escaping from the authorities. Although Sumner Kagan does not react very well to people that show him kindness, he is warming up to the idea that people are capable of kindness to some extent.
ReplyDeleteSHANE KIYOTA
The main idea of the novel is trying to break away from an oppressive system. For Winston, this is incredibly difficulty, with a government that is omnipresent. Winston is starting to hate the Party with a passion, and is breaking away from the normal activities. These include going to more ratty parts of town, buying illegal objects, and trying to find the truth about the history of Oceania. The risk is massive, as BIG BROTHER is always watching, and he can get caught and killed. He has to keep an inscrutable expression, as he is being monitored at every turn.
ReplyDeleteThe story, in cold blood has a major theme and that is tragedy. The Clutter family did so much for their friends, town, and overall the community. They were the most generous and well-respected family in all of Holcomb, Kansas. They were also fairly well treated in Garden City where some of the Clitters would occasionally SOJOURN to do different activities. They truly did help the community be better and that's why it was so tragic when they were brutally murdered for no reason. The murderers had no explatiomg why they would kill such a genuinely nice family. The Clutter's were simply perfect and they were notGAUNT or had any problem with them physically or mentally. The murderers did not have any motive to kill them, but they did and killed one of the sweetestjj families in Holdomb, Kansas.
ReplyDeleteCiara Thyne
I think the theme the author portreys through this story is to not let fear into your head. I think this because perry and peewee are so scared before they go on there first mission they almost pass out. They have a talk on the chopper about fear and that they will certainly be killed if they allow it into there heads. During the mission, they feel not even the slightest bit of fear and are succesful in the mission. This theme is a central theme through out this book so far. They meet many people along their journey who are frozen out of fear and desperation. I think the author is trying to portrey the message that we should not let fear into our lives and by doing that we will be able to focus more vividly on life.
ReplyDeleteAnother theme the Author migh be displaying is that of companionship. Peewee and Perry now do everything together and feel safe around each other. Also by having a friend like this, they are able to put fear aside due to the safety they provide for eachother. I personally think that it is vital to have at least one friend like this, that you can completely trust.
Julian Rimm
The Most obvious theme of “The Last Summer” is love and the passing of time. Love is a major theme because the three main characters Alice, Riley, and Paul all love each other in different ways. At one point Paul even wonders how many types of love there are (page 112). However all their love grows and changes as time passes. This brings the theme of passing time. As time goes on everything changes. This is most obvious in the case of Alice and Paul. When they were younger their love was that of siblings almost. Mow that the two of them are adults their love has changes to a much more advance stage. They not only love each other but are lovers. Another powerful example of love changing would be Paul’s mother. As time passes, Paul’s mother no longer wants the edifice on the beach. This house is now simply a painful vestige of the time when her husband was alive. As time goes on all types of feelings change. “The Last Summer” tends to focus on the change love goes through as people get older and more time passes. This makes both love and the passing of time themes in this particular book.
ReplyDeleteJUSTINE MALEK
In "The Last Summer," there seems to be the theme of friendship vs. love. Back when they were little they all used to hang out with each other like it was their own little adventurers club. Alice always tagged along like a third wheel who only sometimes joined in the fun because she always seemed to find a solemnity in their games that kept her from playing. However, everything started to change as they began to grow up. On top of them growing love also sprung into action and unspoken covenants were being made which slowly seemed to tear them apart at the seams. They all care for each other more than themselves that they sometimes end up hurting the person or people that they did not want to hurt in order to protect them. Take for example Paul, he supposedly loved Alice so much that he felt he should leave the island for a couple of years to protect her from him because he thought that she deserved better than him. He did all of this while fully knowing that Alice already loved him at the time. Within this book lines seem to be crossed between friendship and love. Both sisters love Paul but Paul only loves Alice and sees Riley as a best friend and with them all looking out for each other’s feelings things could easily be ruined. Riley, in fact, later realizes Paul’s and Alice’s feelings when catching them on a beach together and becomes confused about hers. She feels that she will be left out and probably at the same time hurt that Paul chose Alice. With mixed feelings in everyone and friendship’s and lovers at risk only time can tell what will become of this love story.
ReplyDeleteOne major theme in this book is hte theme of fear. This is important because of how much is affects the characters in my story. This is because the characters, Perry and Peewee are fighting in the Vietnam war and the fear of being attacked is always in their minds. It is also an important theme because these soldiers are trained to to feel fear and use it to help them in war.
ReplyDeleteAnother theme that is important in this story is the theme of death. This is an important theme in this story because death is such a big part in the book because of the Vietnam war. In a place like Vietnam during this time period, death is a common reality and soldiers grow accustom to it.
Keoni Grundhauser