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.

Reading Response: Peak

The book Peak is about this 14-year-old, Peak, who illegally scales skyscrapers as a hobby ever since he’s moved away from the suburban area in which his father lives. When he gets caught, his father presents the idea of him moving in with him until the publicity of his stunt buzzes down for a while, which he soon figures is an invitation to climb Everest with him. This book is Peak’s perspective on what happened on that climb. I think this story clearly presents the theme of choosing what’s important in your life and choosing what to invest your time in. And I don’t think Peak is the only one who learns that lesson.

One way this theme is portrayed is through Peak’s mother’s life choices. For example, the whole reason she quit climbing was because she realized she wanted to focus on Peak once he was born. This shows how Peak’s mother analyzed what were the more important things in her life, and if the risks that came with climbing for a living were worth it.

The central way this theme was portrayed was through Peak’s big decision while climbing Everest. When he decides to let Sunjo finish the climb instead of him, he really tests his morals right there and realizes the true purpose in the climb, and what he truly wanted. He realizes that Sunjo needed to be the youngest boy to climb Everest in order to support his family, and Josh’s climbing career, and that he wasn’t really needed there.

All in all, this book is a great example of how someone should choose what’s the best way to live their life, and where they’re really needed. And Peak shows that by choosing to be with his family in the city, where he was truly needed.

Reading Response: Where She Went

The book Where She Went is the sequel to the story of a girl, Mia, who had to chose whether she wanted to join her family and give up, or stay and work with the problems her life has become. The sequel, though, is in the perspective of Mia’s boyfriend and how he deals with the loss of Mia and what his life has become. I think the author, Gayle Forman, does a really great job of portraying how it’s okay for people to be somewhat vulnerable in terms of their lives being an utter mess.

Forman represents disasters through Mia and Adam’s lives throughout the book. Now she does this by having the story evolve around Mia, but has the perspective of the book be with Adam. For example, she shows how Adam’s life was a mess with, “I have the kind of life a lot of people would probably sell a kidney to just experience a bit of [his band went to fame]. But still, I find the need to remind myself the temporariness of every day.” This very clearly represents his place in the book since this was in the very first paragraph of the book. This shows that the condition in which he lives in doesn’t cause this depression of his, but it’s what happened in his past with Mia. Now, obviously Mia had to deal with her family’s death, but the way she described it, like how she momentarily forgot her parents were dead every morning, really showed the depth of the situation. The depth in the pain of the experience in the end.

Now after this part of the book is revealed as they reunite, Forman shows how Mia and Adam give up and start arguing, but the thing is they start spilling all that was bottled up for 3 years, and are actually vulnerable for once. In the process, it’s shown to be for the better. For example, Mia confessed that, “I need to tell you everything. I just think I need some coffee before I can get it together enough to explain.” This shows that even though it was hard for her, she knew that sooner or later she’d have to explain what happened in their past, and that meant being vulnerable to him for the first time after her family died. In return Adam does the same stating, “I don’t remember the last time I’ve cried but… the floodgates open and I’m sobbing now...in front of the whole damn world.” And this goes for the better, as all secrets are out, all the grudges that were held are slowly resolving, and now there’s an actual chance for them to be in each other's lives now that the problem has been confronted.

All in all, Gayle Forman does a skillful job of expressing the step-by-step process of dealing with loss, shutting out the people you love, confronting the problem as a whole, and losing the fear of being vulnerable throughout the context of this story.