Blog Reflections

To be honest I think I’ve learned more about myself as a writer or responder than a reader. After all this redundancy and practice with responding to texts, it’s no longer a chore for me. I’ve established some sort of stamina and willingness to express my feelings or thoughts on a book, considering this used to be somewhat difficult for me.

Now I’ve figured out different ways to say what I want to say in the most coherent yet formal way possible. It’s almost as if every couple of weeks was a new challenge to expand my vocabulary, and I’m positive it has grown since the beginning of the year, as well as my writing skills.

Although I don’t feel like I’ve changed as a reader as much as a writer, I think that I’ve established a new perspective or way of looking at a text for things such as building an argument, understanding an author’s craft, or being critical and objective towards a text. All of this  practice has ensured my growth as a writer.

I’ve seen this by reading my old responses, and even I could say that I’ve seen an improvement in my vocabulary most of all, my ways of reaching out to the reader, and just my strategic measures of getting my point across.

All in all, this blog has helped my reading and writing grow in many ways.

NF Critical Analysis: A Smarter Gun?

In “A Smarter Gun” by Patricia Smith and Gabriel Tyler, Smith and Tyler discuss a new invention, originally created as a science project, which introduces a new way to achieve safety when dealing with guns. One thing Smith and Tyler do is start out the reader with some brief statistics, like “In 1999, two students at Columbine High School killed 13 people at a shooting rampage”. Then the authors explain how this could be a possible motive for Kai Koepler to create this gun. After that the rest of the article builds off of that, and explains “the debate over guns [which] goes back to 1791”. This chronological order of thinking is very coherent and could help the reader understand how this all ties together.

Smith and Tyler intend to present an objective, Koepler creating ‘a smarter gun’, and connect that with the history of guns. After informing the reader of all sides of the story the reader forms an opinion. This happens by designating an entire subsection, “Two Centuries Of Debate”, to the history of guns and the laws regarding them. Also, the authors present an objective piece of the Constitution, “ A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right to people to keep and Bear arms, shall not be infringed”. This quote could be taken in two completely different ways, where guns are either in favor for the militia or the ‘free people’. This way the reader could form an unbiased opinion based on history, as it was.

I think Smith and Tyler have achieved their supposed goal of presenting an unbiased overview of a very important debate in history. Therefore, this is a good source and presents this issue of guns in an accurate way.

Reading Response: The Virgin Suicides

“The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides shows a unique way of writing a mystery. Because this entire book is only depicted through the perspectives of a group of boys that are acquaintances of the Lisbon sisters. So we only know as much as them which continues the mystery even when the book is over. But this doesn’t mean there aren’t supposed causes for their deaths. For example, the parents restricted them as much as they did even as they got older, triggered Cecelia’s death. The rest were practically hypocrisies and fell like dominos.  

There were lots of symbols that indicated the Lisbon girls’ being adolescentes unfortunately with the same restrictions. For example, they weren’t allowed to wear makeup even the littlest amounts while most teenagers were allowed to do such things. There were also multiple signs of rebellion which indicates the girls growing out of their restrictions. One of the girls waxed her mustache area but had to secretly because it was against her parents’ rules.

As I previously stated these girls got older but their restrictions remained. This is what I think caused Cecelia’s death. Cecelia’s bravery, I guess, to take that big step probably showed the other girls that they could do it too. That’s eventually ended up in every single sister committing suicide.

But then again this is just a theory. We don’t even know if this was murder. It could’ve been suicide out of a feeling of obligation. Or it probably wasn’t a mystery at all. And it was just suicide to escape their current lives.

Reading Response: One Two Buckle My Shoe

         Now that I’ve come to the completion of “One Two… Shoe” I’ve realized that I’m not exactly sure who the protagonist and antagonist is. And I think this was the author’s purpose. Because although I was sure in the beginning, that the kidnapper/ rapist/ murderer was the antagonist and Emily, the victim, was the clear protagonist, surprisingly now I’m not so sure. This leads me to think that a present theme in this book is that everyone starts out as an innocent person, but there surroundings affect who they become. So there’s a good little boy or girl in everyone, no matter how deep.

When George, the chocolate man, was little, he was a real mommy’s boy. He had his moments and got scared like the rest of us. Only, he would have vivid flashbacks of when he’d get locked in a closet because he was being an immature kid. George suffered mental torment from his mother and this appears to be the fuse for his constant murders. He copes in making little bays feel as helpless as he was at the time. Yet he still thinks of his mother as an angel. Now this kind of torture does not turn to drastic measures all the time, but with George’s obsessive-compulsive disorder it’s taken to extremes. So George only goes to these horrid measures to cope with his vivid past.

I think this theme is portrayed beautifully throughout this book. As George does not kidnap a little boy, he accidentally takes Emily instead. But he does not kill her and they actually form quite a unique relationship. Emily sort of plays the absent role of his mother once she figures just how vulnerable his emotional state really is. And once George sees this he comes to be fond of Emily and does not want to kill her, even when he has to because the police were closing in on him. Emily brings out this harmless side of him throughout the story, and even when he’s caught and the police rescue her, she still believes that he’s a good child, just emotionally scarred. With the last line referencing his obsessive-compulsive disorder, “One two three four five six seven, all good children go to heaven.”

As this book completely changes the stereotypes for murderers and kidnappers, it shows that everyone, even the murderer, was once a good little boy. And I figured this as I maneuvered through George’s complicated past.

NF Critical Analysis: Return Of The Measles

In “Return Of The Measles” by Patricia Smith, Smith wants to inform her readers about the recent outbreak of the Measles and how it could have been prevented. Something the author did to discuss this topic is use statistics to enhance the importance of this issue. Another way Smith enhanced  certain issues is she made some quotes big, bold, and red to catch the reader’s eye. For example, “ The US vaccination rate is lower than in Bangladesh.” Thirdly, Smith explains how the outbreak started to give the reader a better understanding of how it could have been prevented. For example, “The outbreak started at Disney Land… when a visitor infected… passed it onto… [7 others]... six weren’t vaccinated. From there it spread to 17 states”. These things depict how the author tries to use various methods to bring attention to the fact that this disease could’ve been prevented.

Patricia Smith expects to prove to her readers that this entire outbreak could’ve been prevented if people stopped trying to defy the government, and their rules about medical needs.

She achieves this by including biased political cartoons that support her perspective on the topic. These cartoons show that ‘anti-vaxxers’ are doing more harm than good and it’s their own children that they’re putting at risk. Basically, the author uses these cartoons to explain the irony of the situation. Also, Smith includes only certain quotes from doctors that were sure to support her argument. There are always going to be people opposing her position but it’s her job to counter other people’s claims. Patricia Smith fails to do that in her article, which weakens her argument as a whole.

After reading the article, “Return Of The Measles”, I have been informed on a topic I didn’t know about at all. But, I also think this author forgets to inform the reader on any possible reasons that anti-vaccinators are doing what they’re doing in the first place. This has gotten me thinking about this massive blank on the topic. I think that this whole issue is based off of showing the government that they can’t always force people into things, and there might actually be some dangers in these vaccinations that this text fails to address. All in all, this article proves to be very biased, uninformative in some areas, and not a reliable source.

One Two Buckle My Shoe: Reading Response

Now because I’m still in the middle of this book I’ve been carefully analyzing the author’s craft. But so far this story’s about a serial killer kidnapping, molesting, and eventually murdering little boys who has earned the name ‘The Chocolate Man’. He is then revealed to be suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder and a horrid past which proves that this little girl, Emily’s, abduction was an accident considering the exactness of all the previous cases. Now as she writes these texts, I question the purpose in the information she’s giving us.

For example, when she gives background information on things that have happened in Emily and her mother’s previous lives. She tells us that Emily’s father has left. She also informs us that her mother does everything in her power to make sure Emily has a happy childhood because she was violated and lost her father as a child and she doesn’t want her to also feel that way. How I respond is I see how that applies to the story but I don’t feel that interested in her concept because I’m more focused on the serial killer and what his motive is.

Also, the author informs us on a little bit of background behind the killer as well. She tells us about the killer’s family through quick flashbacks, and his life after he attempted to burn them in their house. And I can see that the author is trying to get us to better understand the motive behind the killer. But I just end up feeling even worse for the killer than the kids he is actually victimizing throughout the book.

And I get to the point where I’m questioning who’s fault it really is, and whether or not the author intended for me to comprehend the book the way I did, or if my point was extremely farfetched. But I guess it all depends on different readers and there really is no one way to interpret a book.

Revised Literary Essay: The Maze Runner

The book The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, is about this boy who wakes up in an elevator with no recollection of his past other than his name, Thomas. He finds himself in a place called the Glade which he soon figures is surrounded by a massive maze filled with these monsters who have obtained the name Grievers. Throughout the frustration of the lack of knowledge of your surroundings, the characters in this book have constantly shown the theme of persistence throughout the book.

The main character of this book, Thomas, obviously expresses the theme of persistence throughout the story. For example, even after he encountered his first griever in his first night in the maze he was still determined to become a runner. He thought, “ his desire to become a Runner had taken a major blow. But he had to do it. Somehow he knew he had to do it (24).” He wanted to further explore the maze because of his persistence of helping everyone get out of that death trap, and back to wherever else they should be.

The supposed co-leaders of the rest of the characters in the book had a number one priority, and they surely had to have determination to it. When Thomas was asking questions while he was still new, he asked the keepers of the runners, Minho, about his development with figuring out the maze. Minho’s reply was, “Can’t take a chance that one day, in one spot, somewhere, an exit might appear. We can’t give up. Ever (118).” Even after two years of searching for an escape, they still haven’t given up. Even with the pressure of a whole group of kids counting on them, they knew giving up wouldn’t do anyone any good. So they took that as their motivation to keep going. 

As you can see, The Maze Runner clearly portrays the message of determination and persistence to further continue through the obstacles you’ll face in life. Even if they’re not as drastic as being in the middle of a gigantic maze with no way of getting out, you should always carry the strength of endurance, for that is rare but sacred in all life-choices.

Unrevised Version:
http://thewickedbananahammer.blogspot.com/2015/01/reading-response-maze-runner.html

Reading Response: The Maze Runner

The book The Maze Runner is about this boy who wakes up in an elevator with no recollection of his past other than his name, Thomas. He finds himself in a place called the Glade which he soon figures is surrounded by a massive maze filled with these monsters who have obtained the name Grievers. Throughout the frustration of the lack of knowledge of your surroundings, the characters in this book have constantly shown the theme of persistence throughout the book.

The main character of this book, Thomas, obviously expresses this theme in the story. For example, even after he encountered his first griever in his first night in the maze he was still determined to become a runner. He wanted to further explore the maze because of his persistence helping everyone get out of that death trap, and back to wherever they should’ve been.

The supposed leaders of the rest of the characters in the book had a number one priority, and they surely had to have determination to it. Even after two years of searching for an escape, they still haven’t given up. Even with the pressure of a whole group of kids counting on them, they knew giving up wouldn’t do anyone any good. So they took that as their motivation to keep going.

As you can see, The Maze Runner clearly portrays the message of determination and persistence to further continue through the obstacles you’ll face in life. Even if they’re not as drastic as being in the middle of a gigantic maze with no way of getting out, you should always carry the strength of endurance, for that is rare but sacred in all life-choices.

Blog Review: Sophia's NF Critical Analysis

This week I read Sophia’s NF critical analysis on “The Hungry Self,” by Kim Chernin. I thought that it was very well-written and what I liked the most was how she really connected it to herself instead of just explaining the theme. She also explained how it inspired her to do even more research on the topic.

Sophia doesn’t just state positive feedback on the book itself, but I really liked how she went into detail about every good aspect of the book. She also didn’t forget to give the author credit for everything and linked every good thing back to her. For example, she explained the author’s purpose thoroughly and how the author really helps a lot of women with her book. Also, she also explains the importance of the real-life examples and how that complements the book’s overall structure.

Something that really enhances her analysis as a whole, is how she speaks about her personal perspective and opinion at the end of it. She goes into her personal experience while reading the book, and she highlights how she benefited from the text. For example, what she learned and of course what she was inspired to research even further.

All in all, Sophia wrote a very interesting response to this book. And the way she explains the benefits of it inspires me to read it or other books on this topic as well.

The link to this blog post is: http://sophiesblog33.blogspot.com/2015/01/non-fiction-critical-analysis.html

NF Critical Analysis: Rap Music On Trial

In “Rap Music On Trial” by Veronica Majerol, Majerol wants to inform her readers on this debate regarding the legal issues with violent and gory images in rap music and how they have been  used as confessions or criminal evidence in crime investigations. One thing Majerol does is start out the reader with a case of a double homicide that originally had no leads until a cop came across a rap song that described brutal murders in the same setting. Then Majerol explained how “the case is hardly unique” and went deeper into other cases similar to it. Thirdly she discussed how this use of rap ‘confessions’ was technically going against “the First Amendment’s free speech clause…[and had] a chilling effect on free expression.” These examples and pieces of evidence present an opportunity for the reader to form an informed opinion based on two sides of the debate.

Veronica Majerol intends to present an objective and very well informed response to this debate in order to give the reader a chance to form an opinion on the topic on their own. She does this by presenting two different cases where one person is actually innocent but leaves threatening comments on Facebook about “brutally killing” his ex-wife, and another case where someone is found to be a gang member and “convicted...on related weapon charges. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.” This presents two different situations on this topic for the reader. She also brings the Constitution into the situation to express the seriousness of this debate including both ends of it (the cops using rap lyrics as evidence and the people supposedly committing the crime). Another thing the author does is bring attention to important points in the text to enhance the main idea in the article.

Considering Majerol displays an objective overview of this debate I would say that she achieves her supposed goal of presenting an unopinionated portrayal of two sides of a debate so a reader could build their own position by themselves. Therefore, this article has proven itself a good source. It has also helped me shape my thinking into being against charging someone of a crime solely based on the music they write, but with using rap lyrics as a lead if there’s a clear connection or as support for a claim that already has other pieces of evidence.