Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles (Fahrenheit 451)

Mrs. Phelps' footsteps pounded against the driveway as she walked down the street and back to her home, with Mrs. Bowles at her side. "Who does he think he is? Mildred had better get a hold on that husband of hers or else I don't think I will ever go back to her house. I mean first he turns off the parlor walls and then he starts reading a book. The book was a whole bunch of nonsense, anyways. A whole bunch of nonsense," Mrs. Phelps' voice boomed with anger and frustration as she turned to Mrs. Bowles, expecting her to simply agree.

"Well, Mrs. Phelps, I do see what you're talking about. I mean, I suppose I do agree with you, yet it was quite a lovely poem he read. It was nothing like everything you hear from those parlor walls. It seemed more thought out and just simply elegant," a slight smile formed on Mrs. Bowles' lips as she drifted off into her own world of thoughts and memories.

"What are you talking about, Mrs. Bowles? All that I heard from that man's mouth was a whole load of rubbish! Anyways, what he did was completely illegal! I think we should go report it to the firemen," Mrs. Phelps glanced over at Mrs. Bowles' astonished face and sighed, "Oh, Mrs. Bowles, you're probably just stunned about all this, that's why you're thinking up all these crazy things. You'd better start thinking straight because I'm afraid if you begin to read books as well, I'd have to turn you into the firemen, just like I'm doing right now with Mr. Montag." Mrs. Bowles paused and turned her head slowly to Mrs. Phelps, who stopped as well.

"The firemen?" Mrs. Bowles mouth dropped open and her eyes widened, "But then they'll go and burn the books," she began to feel a strange sensation she had never felt before.

"Well of course! Isn't that their job?" Mrs. Phelps chuckled and began to walk forward, leaving Mrs. Bowles behind her, right where she had stopped, "Go ahead and stay there, for all I care! But I'm on my way to the firehouse. Whatever absurd story Mrs. Montag made up about that book is obviously not true. Goodbye!" She stormed down the street and into the direction of the firehouse as Mrs. Bowles' confused eyes followed her. For some reason, Mrs. Bowles didn't want her to go to the firehouse, didn't want Montag to go to prison, and most importantly, didn't want the books to be burned.

For once in her life, she had a feeling of desperation, of longing to get her hands on a book, just like Montag's. She had never felt so passionate and caring of anything in her life and she felt impelled to doing something, anything about it. Without even thinking, Mrs. Bowles feet began to rewind their steps back to Montag's house, slowly at first, but gaining speed with each step until she was running to the one thing in her life that she truly wanted. Even if it was just one more poem, eloquently spoken from Montag's mouth, her hunger for knowledge that had been sheltered for years would finally be satisfied.

 And that satisfaction was the one thing on her mind as she ran. Or at least until the firetrucks came roaring down the street, headed for the same destination as her, shattering her hopes and crushing any sense of pure happiness that she had ever felt.

Slated

Well, now that break is over and we are pretty much back into the swing of things at school, it's back to blogging! And with this new semester of blogging, I have a pretty interesting new book that I'm really excited to read. Yet, there's one problem- we're about to start reading Fahrenheit 451 in class and reading two books at the same time is not exactly my specialty. So, as a solution, I decided to give myself a little "sneak preview" of my book, Slated, just to get myself interested but not too engaged just yet. However, it was very difficult not to get engaged, even though I only got two chapters into it.

As I was buying Fahrenheit 451 at the book store, I was looking for a new book and I saw this one. I have to admit, I am guilty of judging books by their cover, so when I saw this one, it immediately grabbed my attention because of the interesting cover and just the title itself. As a result, I decided to open up the book and take a quick look at the synopsis. I was suddenly pulled into the book even more when it described a girl, named Kyla, whose memory had been erased by the government as a punishment for terrorism, but begins to remember things from her past life. Yes, I know what you're thinking - another dystopian book with that brave person who decides to go against society. Well, I thought the exact same thing as I am pretty worn out on dystopian novels, as well, but this one seemed more interesting than others and I still can't figure out why that is. Initially, I wasn't planning on buying this book, but after a last minute book swap as I was standing in line to check out, I chose this book and I am so glad I did. The very first words of this book in the prologue greet you with intense adventure, "I run. Fists of waves claw the sand as I force one foot to pound after the other. Scramble up, slip down, repeat. Faster. Eyes fixed on the dunes ahead. Don't look back. Mustn't look. Ragged breath; in, out, in, out. Still I run." What is she running from? Where is she? What in the world is going on? Unfortunately I have no idea because that was just the prologue and at chapter one, the author takes you back to the very beginning. And since we are reading a book in class, that's even longer I have to wait to read this book. But the likeliness of me waiting is pretty slim...

Semester 1 Reflection

Although it seems that there is no possible way that it can be true, the first semester of this year is just two weeks away from its ending, so that means it's time to look back at blogging throughout this semester. During this semester, I've independently read Life in Motion, Twelve Years a Slave, and 13 Reasons Why. The first book, and also my favorite out of the three, Life in Motion, was a memoir, written by ballet dancer, Misty Copeland about her struggles becoming a ballet dancer many struggles, such as a difficult childhood, lacking money, and having a different "look" than the typical ballerina. I loved that Copeland was so honest throughout the memoir and that the overall message conveyed could apply to things other than ballet. The second book, Twelve Years a Slave, was my least favorite because it was written so formally (since it was written in the 1800's) and that it was very difficult to connect to, which made me lose interest. The last book, 13 Reasons Why, was a very interesting book, from the overall plot, to the structure of the book that really grabbed the reader's attention. The plot was so intriguing that it kept you wanting to know more and more, something that I really love to see in a book because I get impatient with books that don't get to the point. So, overall my reading choices this semester were not too bad in the end.

 During this semester, my blog has changed dramatically, and for the better. When the blog was first started, my "voice" wasn't present and it really wasn't interesting at all. I strictly wrote what I was supposed to write and maybe added a picture of the book cover as a visual. There was no real attention grabber; it just sounded like an "English Robot" had written it. Luckily, however, when Mrs. Bross had read one of my first blog posts, the first thing she said that needed to be improved upon was making it sound more natural. And it was a good thing she said it, because my blog at its start was pretty weak and boring. Once I started to apply this to my blog, there was a drastic difference and it even felt a little easier to write. When I wrote more naturally, I found it simpler to add in things such as figurative language and good diction in order to improve the quality of my blog.  So, I guess I've done something correctly for my blog!

Even though my blog has shown great improvement since the beginning of the year, it still needs a bit of work to become to best it can be. The first thing that could be improved upon is grammar because it has never really been my strength and sometimes that is evident in my blog posts. Another thing that I wish to improve upon is what visuals I use in each of my posts. In most of my posts, there is just a picture of the cover of the book I am reading, which doesn't exactly help the reader with anything other than what to look for in the book store. Lastly, I'd like to improve on making the blog a piece of writing that the readers would actually enjoy reading and for them to feel as though they have gotten something out of reading my posts. From these weaknesses in my blog, my three goals for making a better blog are (1 having perfect grammar in each post
and proofreading it before posting it, (2 having strong visuals that contribute to my posts, and (3 making my blog interesting and effective to those who read it. I plan on reaching each of these goals throughout the next semester in order to help strengthen my blog as a whole.

Romeo and Juliet

So our class just began reading Romeo and Juliet and so far, it's really not as scary as I thought it would be. I was not so sure about what to expect when reading this play by Shakespeare because, well, it was by Shakespeare and that should make any freshman Honors English student want to go cry in the corner. It's not like I thought it would be bad, it was actually quite the opposite. I thought it would be too well-written; so intricate and detailed that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between lines of dialogue about love and lines about hate. However once we began to read it, I realized that it wasn't as bad as I had imagined and that I can actually read Shakespeare, or at least this certain play. Once I began to really read in depth and think about what it was I was reading, it all started to make sense and could get the gist of what was going on. But what has helped me the most through the adventure of reading this play so far is that you need to really read, not just skim, and that sometimes, reading it over twice will be the most effective.

However, what fourteen year old understands every single word that Shakespeare wrote? Definitely not this one. There are a lot of instances when what the characters are saying makes no sense, and probably more often than not. My strategy for these dilemmas is to reread the trouble spots and then, if I still don't understand, keep reading. If nothing seems to be making sense plot-wise because of not understanding that trouble spot, then I'll go back and analyze further. A lot of times, though, these trouble spots don't even matter and are just put in there for who knows what reason. Another aspect of this writing that gives me issues is syntax. Even though Mrs. Bross specifically told us that sometimes, Shakespeare uses different sentence orders to emphasize importance, it still tends to trick me here and there. A simple example of this is in Act 1 Scene 2, when Paris is speaking to Capulet and says, "Of honourable reckoning are you both;". Even though this line is not of much importance, it simply shows that everything Shakespeare wrote had a specific purpose and in this case, he wanted to show that "honorable reckoning" was the most important part of this sentence. Therefore, he put this first, even though he could have just written, "You are both of honorable reckoning." The fact that he chose to write this entire play like this may bring some confusion, but it altogether shows how great of a writer Shakespeare was.

On to the next book!

Well, now that our multicultural memoir unit is over, I've decided that it's time to take a break from memoirs. I mean, the past three books that I've read were memoirs so this time around, I took a recommendation from my friend who is quite the reader. I'm not that big of a reader, so it wasn't like I had a whole line of books on hold until I finished Twelve Years a Slave. There was one book I was interested in reading- a memoir called, Taking Flight, by Michaela DePrince, war orphan and star ballerina. However, like I said before, I was kind of done with memoirs at the moment and my parents said that the book would have to be a Christmas present. So, when I saw my reading friend the other day, I asked her if I could borrow any book of hers and she told me that she would lend me the book, Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.

Since I'm not very opinionated when it comes to reading, I just went along with what she said that I would like most, based on the fact that reading is not my favorite hobby. She told me that this book moves pretty quickly, which is something that I really enjoy in a book because once a book begins to move slowly, I immediately put it down and move onto the next one. Anyways, when I got home and began to write this blog, I looked up the book that she was going to lend me and I was pulled in right when I read the synopsis. It's about the relationship between Clay and Hannah, a girl who committed suicide two weeks earlier. When Clay finds a box of cassette tapes of Hannah describing the thirteen reasons why she decided to kill herself on her doorstep, he finds out that he was one of the reasons. It sounds so intense and so interesting that I can't wait for her to give me the book tomorrow. Not only does the plot sound interesting, but from the reviews I've read, it sounds like quite an inspiring book. One review that stood out to me was this, "This book changed my life. Gave me more hope. And I encourage people to read this book. Especially my best friend, because for a while I saw her as Hannah. Without this book I'm not sure Id have the courage to stand up like I can today.” Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm super excited to get reading.

Twelve Years a Slave

In our multicultural memoir, Twelve Years a Slave, by Solomon Northup, the most important idea that the reader learns throughout Solomon's hardships, is that, even in the darkest times, there is hope and if you maintain that hope, then you will persevere through to a pleasing outcome. Although there were times in the book when Solomon went against this theme through his actions, he always had that hope in the back of his mind that things would turn out right. Since you probably haven't read this book, you're probably wondering why it would be so difficult for Solomon to keep faith in whatever it is that he is doing. Well, the reason is that Solomon lived as a free African-American in New York in the 1850's, a time period very popular for slave owning. However, when he was bribed to play his violin in a circus, traveling to Washington D.C., he soon found that he was being used when he woke up one morning, in chains, waiting to be sold into slavery. After twelve years living in the hardships of slavery, Solomon was finally saved by his friends from back in New York, but those twelve years included life-changing experiences that would never allow Solomon be the same man he was before. Now you can see why it would be so difficult for Solomon to keep faith in his freedom, when years of slavery were lying ahead of him.

This picture of Solomon as a slave shows
how much his life changed as a slave

Solomon as a free man, from the movie

During this time period, it was beyond difficult to escape slavery, almost impossible, even. So why was Solomon able to be sold into slavery when he was legally a free man? Well, just a few days before he had been kidnapped, Solomon obtained papers that legally said that he was a free man, but those were somehow taken from him and, even though he begged and pleaded his freedom, no one would listen to a word he had to say. His masters even threatened his life for claiming that he was a free man, which shows just how much discrimination against African-Americans was happening at the time. Since so many white people felt this way at the time, it clearly explains why escaping wasn't even near reality at the time. According to this article from history.com, on the underground railroad, escaping slavery was something that even the bravest souls feared. The risk of being caught by slave masters was so great that even the most well thought out plans could shrivel at any moment. Abolitionists, like Harriet Tubman, aided many slaves to their freedom through the underground railroad at the time. And although Solomon didn't escape through the underground railroad, this just goes to show how difficult it'd be to help someone out of slavery. These difficulties also show how important it was for Solomon to keep hope because if he didn't believe in his escape, this probability of it happening would be very slim.

The Color of Water

So, reading The Maze Runner kind of got put on hold when our class had to begin reading The Color of Water, but it doesn't really matter because, either way, I'd still be reading a fantastic book. The Color of Water is a very interesting book and I especially love it because it is a memoir. Memoirs are some of my favorite books to read because, even if they are "enhanced" a little to make it more interesting, I always find it fascinating how it was actually someone's life, not just a made-up story coming out of the reader's imagination. Also, I love how the author can share how they feel about certain situations not only at the time that it was happening, but also how they feel about it looking back at it. This allows the author to convey a specific message or lesson that they had learned from all of their amazing experiences. As the reader, I sometimes have to remind myself that what I am reading actually happened to this person because some things that happened are so amazing and life-changing that it seems like they came right out of the author's head.

Anyways, back to The Color of Water. This book is so greatly written, in a way that is realistic, yet unbelievable. All of the events that have happened so far in his life are eye-opening to what a black person with a white mom had to go through in this time period. But James' life is not the only one with obstacles to jump over and surprises at every turn. His mother, Ruth has an even more shaky and unstable back story, that is revealed from her point of view every other chapter. The idea of, little by little, unraveling Ruth's past in between James' is extraordinary. It is so helpful to get to know Ruth from her own point of view because it helps you to understand why Ruth does the things she does now because her past has impacted her in every aspect. Also, it is much more interesting for the reader to get another perspective throughout the book, rather than just listening to James the whole time. This book is a great read so far and I think it may be the first book we have to read for school that I actually enjoy reading!