OBAA and AoW Comparison 9/24/15

Prompts: Analyze how Of Beetles and Angels and your AoW make connections or distinctions between individuals, ideas and/or events. How does war affect individuals and societies?

9/24/15

        The book Of Beetles and Angles(OBAA) and the article,"Kerry says U.S. will take 85,000 refugees next year; 100,000 in '17" have their similarities and differences. One of the similarities was an idea of what another country was like. In OBAA the Sudanese refugees and Mawi's family thought of America as a paradise. In the book Mawi's father, Haileab says,"...a paradise called Amerikha, a distant land where everyone had a future." This idea of another country is very similar to a mother mentioned in the article. The mother was a Syrian refugee,but moved to Germany. She moved to Germany,"...in search of a future," which was the same reason as Mawi's family.

        Another similarity between these two pieces of writing is some of events that happened. In OBAA Mawi's family became refugees because of a war. Mawi's family was situated in the middle of the war between Ethopia and Eritrea. Since, they were where there Mawi, age three, and his family had to walk to Sudan. In the article,"Kerry says U.S. will take 85,000 refugees next year; 100,000 in '17" the
refugees that are being moved to the U.S. are from Africa and Syria. Syria at the moment is going through a civil war causing many to flee the country. Africa is also going through a war creating even more refugees. In all, the refugees in OBAA and the article are both created from countries in war.

        War can affect individuals and societies greatly. A family or individual's life can change completely. For instance, in OBAA Mawi and his family came from a refugee camp with little food and clean water to America with a surplus of all of that. A place with very little technology to a place where they were surrounded by technology They also had to to leave some of their friends and their culture. Societies are affected by war because they fall apart. The article says,"...mass migration of Syrians fleeing their civil war." If all of this is going on a country there must be anarchy in that country. There would be anarchy because the authorities are focused on the war and not the citizens.

Solitary: Escape from Furnace 8/23/15 (Summer Reading Blog #4)

Solitary: Escape from Furnace
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Pages: 112 - 225 (End)
Prompt: What do you like about what you are reading?

Very minor spoiler! (3rd paragraph)

        There are two big things that I love about this book that make it better. One of those is the authors descriptiveness and his way of describing things. The second is Alex's mindset in Furnace. There are other things that I like about the book like the plot line, character development, and setting, but I'm only going to focus on the first two.

        Something that I love about the author's descriptiveness is how he describes colors. He said the prison had crimson red lights and he also said that the "rats" had charcoal-gray veins. He could have said the red light and gray veins, but he went for a more specific shade, which I love. I love it because it helps me visualize the setting and characters better. I also love that the author uses similes to describe the characters and setting. For instance, he described a rat saying, "His torso looked like a rag doll that had been overstuffed..." which gave me a disturbing visualization, but I believe that was his intention and it worked. He would also describe Alex's pain while running by saying, "...it felt like my lungs were on fire."

        I find Alex's mindset very impressive and interesting. Ever since Alex entered Furnace he has only thought about escape. In the first book if he wasn't thinking about surviving, then he was thinking about escaping. When he was thrown into solitary the first thing he looked for was a way to escape. For instance, he ripped a vent in the corner of the cell out of the ground to see if he can escape through there. It took him hours to take it off, but he still tried, which I find very impressive that he wants to escape that bad.

Solitary: Escape from Furnace 8/12/15 (Summer Reading Blog #3)

Solitary: Escape from Furnace
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Pages: 0 - 112
Prompt: List at least three problems the characters faced? Which was the most life
changing? Explain

Spoiler Alert!!

        Alex and Zee faced the same problems in this book so far, so these problems and effects happened to both of them. They haven't face a lot so far, but the three biggest ones were the underground caverns, the mutant prisoners, and probably the most life changing solitary.

        The first problem, the underground caverns, stretched from the first book to this one. Alex, Zee, and Gary had to navigate the the dark, cramp, and mysterious caverns for what seemed like a long time. Which slowly tore them apart, making the conditions more harsh. Also, before they started navigating the caves the three got badly hurt from an explosion and sharp rocks and they lost a friend from those two things, even further worsening this experience.

        Alex and Zee do get out of their cells twice so far, but it's not safe. A mutated prisoner, Simon, wants Alex to help him and the other mutants. The things is not all the mutants are nice like Simon. The other want human flesh and revenge on the blacksuits, so when Simon takes them out of their cell they could be attacked by the other mutants or the blacksuits. The blacksuits are also mutants which is why I still consider them for this category. I'll let you figure out the difference between the mutant prisoners and the blacksuits by reading the book.

        Solitary was the worst of these three problems. Alex and Zee were stuck in a dark, cramp space, they got fed every two days, and they had no connection to anybody or the outside world. The biggest reason why I say this was the worst problem is the fact they had no connection to the outside world. That started to drive them crazy, they couldn't see anything and they heard nothing, leaving them to their thoughts and hallucinations. Though they eventually find a way to communicate with each other. Also, if I remember correctly Donovan told Alex that nobody lasted longer than a week in solitary, Alex and Zee have to be in solitary for a whole month! I think their solitary experience will also be the most life changing because they lost a lot of weight and the hallucinations might affect how they act when they're out of solitary.

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace 7/22/15 (Summer Reading Blog #2)

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Pages: 160 - 273 (End)
Prompt: Analyze how your feelings change as you read this story and why.

        My feeling changed a lot while reading this book. There were moments of fear, excitement, anger, sadness, etc. This was due to the many events in this prison and how descriptive the author was throughout this book. I think another factor that contributed to these feelings was the setting. The fact that the prison, prisoners, and guards are so brutal, you never know what could happen next.

        Like I said the events and descriptive had me feel different ways. For instance, the blood watch. Gordon Smith described the prison, the wheezers, and the actual event so well that if this were to happen I was scared for Alex, Donovan, and their friends. I'm not going to give away what the blood watch is, but I'll say it happen at night, which makes the prison pitch black, besides flickering the red lights. Also, the way that the wheezers are describes is quite scary. They have eyes that look like, "...black marbles," and have a, "contraption that covered its mouth and nose... colored with rust and verdigris... stitched permanently into the skin."


        There were many times were the my feelings changed quickly. For instance, at the beginning of the book there was a section where I was anxious, then afraid, and then sad and angry. There was also a time Alex and Donovan were talking about escape then Alex got challenged to a fight. I went from excited to afraid knowing that Alex was in danger. These were only two quick changes showing that this happen a good amount of times, so I would say that this book was and emotional roller coaster.

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace 7/13/15 (Summer Reading Blog #1)

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Pages: 0 - 160
Prompt: What surprises you in this story? Explain why.

        What surprises me the most in this book is the prison itself. I'm mainly going to focus on the events that can occur and how the prison is set up and handled. You probably wouldn't imagine what happens in a prison for teens is that bad, but things that go on in this prison probably wouldn't happen in any other prison in the world. That is how bad it is. Also, keep in mind this is only what I've seen half way through the first book of a five book series.

        This prison set up and handled, so poorly it makes it dangerous throughout the whole day, even if the warden or guards are around. The book describes it as, "A place of pure evil with walls soaked in blood. Murderous gangs and vicious guards rule the darkness." That description is only scratching the surface of this prison's dark side. Skirmishes and fights can happen and guard don't care as long as there is no weapons. Lunch is the only meal time and it consist of, "Slop" and only Slop, spoiled meats, bone, molded and rotten food, and much more ground together. There are over a dozen floors of small cramped cells with two inmates each.

      The events that occur in Furnace are horrible and probably unlawful. There are skirmishes like I mentioned earlier, which rarely happen. Also, like normal prisons there are lockdowns at Furnace. Prisoners are supposed to go to their cell. Here's the thing, there are two types of lockdowns one from skirmishes and another for no reason which is worse, yet both are the same. When the doors close mutated, skinless, and vicious dogs and/or guards with shotguns are released to get any prisoners left outside their cell and kill them. Yes, I'm still talking about a prison for teens. There are also, "Horrific creatures that can steal people away in the dead of night." Which you'll have to find more about it by reading the book.

All these events and description are few of what I've seen happen to Alex, the main character, and/or his friends in this prison. I will probably encounter more horrific events in the future, but that all for now.

Of Mice and Men: The Movie 5/11/15

Of Mice and Men

5/11/15

Prompts:

1.  In the film, the director shows us “the incident in Weed” differently from how we find out in the book. What’s different? Why do you think he chose to do it that way? How does it change the story?
2. The book begins with the “stage” set by the pond. In the film, we see George on a train first. Why would the director do this? What is the director telling us about George’s life?
3. What do you think of the director’s choice of Sharilynn Fenn to play Curley’s wife? Does she look the way you imagined her in the book? Whom would you have chosen?

        In the movie "the incident in Weed" is introduced differently because they showed the girl screaming and running and it showed George and Lennie running from the men. It also showed them hide in an irrigation ditch and leave Weed on a train. In the book they just said Lennie liked the dress touched it and accidentally ripped it, they didn't go in depth of the incident. I think the director chose to do it that way because it could leave audiences confused of what actually happened. It also wouldn't make sense if they mentioned it in the movie, but didn't show it. This extra scene doesn't really change the story because it happened in the book, too. The book didn't explain the situation as well.

        I think the director did this to show that George had to move around the California. He had to go from Weed to Soledad. He also ended it with him on the train, so it could mean that he's going to have to move again. It could tell that George's life has a lot of traveling and change. If he started and ended the movie on a train, I think there could be another message the director was trying to send.

        I think his choice of Sharilynn Fenn was a great choice. She did a great job conveying the emotions of Curley's Wife at the right times. She almost exactly how I pictured her. In the book it said she was heavily made up, so I expected more make up on her. Besides that I think the director did a great job portraying her from what John Steinbeck wrote. I don't know who I would pick. I can't think of any female actor that would look like Curley's Wife, other than Sharilynn Fenn. If I could I wouldn't change the actress for this roll.

hhk

"Paradox and Dream" Reflection 5/21/15

"Paradox and Dream" Reflection
5/21/15

“We spend our time searching for security, and hate it when we get it.”

        This paradox is saying that people try to get to something or a high rank, but hate it when they get it. This could be with a job promotion. When you get the promotion you might be happy because you get more money, but unhappy because more work. That is why this is a common paradox, it could happen anywhere and anyone. This paradox can happen in school, the workplace, sports, etc.

         I chose this paradox because I’ve seen this in my life, my family, movies, TV shows, etc. In my life it was with baseball. I wanted to make the all-star team, so bad. I played and practiced my best and it paid off, I made it! I was so happy that I made it, but soon hated that I made it. It was too strict and I played in one game for about 5 minutes. It was the worst. I've also seen this in many TV shows. There would be situations where a character wanted something, but hated it when they got it.

"We scramble and scramble up the stony path toward the pot of gold we have taken to mean security. We trample friends, relatives, and strangers who get in the way of our achieving it; and once we get it we shower it on psychoanalyst to try to find out why we are unhappy, and finally –– if we have enough of the gold –– we contribute it back to the nation in the form of foundations and charities."

        This paradox is saying that people will do anything to get what they want, even push aside family is they're in the persons way. This could be with moving up the ranks in a job. They could set family and friends aside and ignore them, just to reach that rank. When they get that rank they might wonder why they have nobody to support or is talking to them anymore making them sad. This paradox might not be as common as the others. Like the other paradox this could happen in school, the workplace, sports, etc.

        I've seen this paradox in various cartoon and TV shows. A character would work on something so much and be delighted when they finished, but they never noticed they shut themselves out from they relatives and friends. I'm have never heard of an experience like this happen in my family or in the real world. I'm sure there has to be experiences of this on the Internet, but yet I never heard of any.