Blog Six

In my book, The Catcher In The Rye the book is being narrated in first person point of view by the main character, Holden. He lives in New York City and has been to about four different schools. The reason he keeps moving schools is because he always gets kicked out for having flunked out every subject, except English (his favorite topic). With all the schools he has been to, he notices how "phony" as he says everyone is. After being in a fight with his roommate Stradlater because of he goes out with Holden's old friend, Jane, he realizes that he doesn't want to stay at Pencey until Christmas Break because how snotty everyone is. He has quite a lot of cash on him so he makes his way to a hotel, enters the Lavender Room wanting his favorite drink, Scotch and a Coke. He's only 16 or 17, and he makes his way back up to the room making some stupid decisions. The next day he does the same, but he gets really drunk, to make his way back home to talk to his little sister, Phoebe. Out of everything in the world, he has trouble find things he enjoys, he finds out later, something he really loves is his little brother and sister.

A signpost that came up in this book is a memory moment. That moment is when Stradlater asks Holden to write his composition for him. He writes about Allie, his little brother, who died when they were in Maine from leukemia on July 18th, 1946. Anyway, the composition was about Allie's left handed baseball glove. He remembers poems being written every where on the baseball mitt. In the book it says, "My brother Allie had this left handed fielders mitt. He was left handed. The thing that was descriptive about it, though, was that he had poems written all over the fingers and the pocket and everywhere. In green ink. He wrote them on it so that he'd have something to read when he was in the field and nobody was up to bat." It didn't matter if Allie was dead or not. Holden still loves him, he loves him no matter if he was dead or alive, he even says "you don't stop loving someone just because they're dead".

Blog Number Five

In the book of The Diary of a Part-Time Indian, we meet Arnold, he is stuck between two worlds. He wants to find hope, but in order to do that, he transfers schools. From Wellpinit (reservation school) to  Reardan ("white school"). He leaves the rez and his only best friend, Rowdy. Arnold tries to get him to come with him, but Rowdy refuses and punches Arnold. Through everything, Rowdy was the one protecting Arnold from fights, and Arnold lost him. He gets to his new school and is lonely, gets picked on for being Indian, and he has a crush on a girl who is out of his league. His family is very poor, so no they use all the money they can to make Arnold look middle class. Then he tries out for the basketball team, its a good things, but he has to play against his old school, and his old best friend. Lastly, Arnold thinks that once he moved schools, not houses, that he has put a curse on his family and friends, because through one week, he lost any important people.

The way I see this book, is that it will be my favorite book. Im not the type of person to really read so much, but I found this book really interesting that I read through it fast. If I wasn't so busy, I probably would have finished the book quicker. When I read the part about his parents trying to make Arnold look middle class, I thought it was so amazing because his father is a drunk, and the thought of him not buying liquor, and using that money for Arnold was so thoughtful. Even though he still and to walk to school and home or even hitch a ride, its not like anyone knew. It seemed very depressing, can you imagine walking more then a mile just to get to a school where people didn't accept you? And if you lost more then two people in one week, do you think you would have had the energy to continue doing that? My favorite part of the book, is the ending, because it shows that not every book will have the happiest ending, it was accurate. I do recommend anyone to read this book, I know it might sound cheesy, but it was a 10/10 kind of book.

Blog Number Four

In my book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, we meet a American Indian who lives in a reservation, Junior. He knows that his family is poor, so everyday he hopes to get food. At the same time he says its okay because when they get food, he says it tastes better. He has this white best friend named Rowdy, he claims they have been friends since birth. Then one day at the school, he opens up a book, he sees that his own mother wrote the history book. He becomes angry because he knows that the school is so poor that they cannot afford real books. Junior then becomes very mad, all he wanted to do was hit something, instead he accidentally threw the book at his teachers face, and broke his nose. Mr. P, conferences with Junior, he discusses how he deserved it.

In my book, there is a conflict, Man vs. Self. In the book, Mr. P tells Junior that he needs to get out of the rez, because even Mr. P is tired of trying to get rid of Indians, that he should follow his dreams. Now Junior, he is stuck between leaving his best friend Rowdy and starting a "better life" or staying in the rez where Rowdy protects him from other white people. Junior draws a picture of his house, with two arrows pointed to it, one saying "Rez" and the other saying "Home" then on the other side of the pole he writes "Hope" and "???". If he moves, he knows it will be expensive, but he also knows if he leaves, the Indians will be angry with him if they ever come back. His mother tells him "You'll be the first one to ever leave the rez this way, the Indians around here are going to be angry with you." This proves that it will be hard for him to just transfer school, he stuck between being with people who accept him with not enough education or with people who treat him like a nobody and have little more education.

American Indian Analysis

American Indians were marginalized from society because white people were killing them. They didn't kill them physically, but the white people were trying to get rid of their culture. White people tried turning these American Indians into Whites, as in, the way they dressed, acted, and spoke To be taught not to be like your family, to even separate you, you didn't know how to live like them, you become different. In the text it says, "'Kill the Indian, save the man,' was Pratt saying." This proves that the captain would want these American Indians to change for the "better", but it wasn't better, it was only different. It also says "Along with his new name came a new look. His long hair was cut short. His leggings and moccasins were taken away, replaced by an itchy wool uniform and black leather boots." With this text, white people took away the American Indians tradition. Its killed who they were on the inside by taking away what they had on the outside.

The purpose of Shanice Britton writing this essay was to inform everyone, that American Indians are no different. In the text it says "We live in houses with electricity and running water. I take showers, watch Finding Carter on MTV, and wear jeans, just like any other teen." They way she explains how she lives is just like us, just like us because, "There are paved roads and a small grocery store, a gas station, and restaurants." American Indians aren't always people who wear feathers, wear moccasins, and leggings, but when that does happen its mostly at the ceremonies. The clothing they wear at the ceremonies, the music that plays, and the songs they sing, its just like how they remind themselves of their own traditions that were passed on. But sadly, some things that have died out because of the white people, one was: language, because not even Shanice learned it. Even though she tries to, it will still take her awhile because she learns at the ceremonies.

Perks of being a Wallflower

In my book we meet a boy named Charlie. He starts writing letters, but he does not address them to a particular person. Then it explains how he only had one friend, Michael, the thing is, Michael did something terrible. He has committed suicide, Charlie hates the fact that he never knew there was something wrong, but now he goes into high school, alone. As he gets through it the first weeks, he has to cope with some new things he wasn't used to in middle school. Later on, his English teacher, Bill then knows how smart Charlie is, so he gives him more advanced books. Charlie has two siblings, and older sister and brother, but his brother started college and his sister is a senior. No matter if Charlie was depressed and had anxiety, he still kept it a secret. Till he met two siblings, Sam and Patrick, they showed him happiness and makes him forget about the bad things.

My reflection on the book, I think if you don't understand the way he feels, you wouldn't really understand the book. Honestly, I think this is the best book I have read. I can connect to most feelings he has had. When he's friends stopped talking to him, he didn't know what to do anymore. All because of a stupid mistake. To be a smart student, doesn't mean you can't be depressed, it doesn't stop anything. If you're feeling alone, maybe you should read this book, because you can probably relate and you won't feel so alone.

How can I be more tolerant?

Tolerance: the ability or willingness to allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of something in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.

I can be more tolerant with others by letting them express there feelings without me interrupting them and judging. To me, tolerance kind of means to be respectful of someones opinion and presence. We can live a more tolerant life if everyone won't be rude and let someone just express a few respectful things. Some moments I have with intolerance is when I'm trying to say what I think or feel about things and my brothers interrupt with, "did I ask for your opinion?" or "no one cares about what you think". With them saying that it just makes me give up on continuing my ideas about a particular topic. I will change the way I act so I can make people feel important, if we actually listen to their ideas maybe it'll be a good one. It will get people to feel included and boost up their self esteem.

Second Blog of 4th Quarter

In my book Perks of Being a Wallflower, it is now getting towards the end of the year for Charlie. He feels alone, isolated, like he lost everyone but he knows it was his own mistake. He's a freshman who has feelings or this girl named Sam. But Sam has a boyfriend named Craig and Charlie knows he cannot interfere with them because he loves her so much where he doesn't want to hurt her. He goes out on dates with Sam's best friend, Mary Elizabeth. He thinks they're just going on dates but Mary Elizabeth keep talking to him everyday and Charlie now is getting impatient. With the whole squad together, they play truth or dare, Charlie always picks dare because he doesn't want to hurt Mary Elizabeth with the truth.

The theme in this book is friendship. The problems they always had they still got over it. At my school, Heritage, you can't be friends with people because everyone holds grudges and are so ignorant. At least Patrick, Sam, Charlie and the others would always hang out at Big Boys or at the parties they threw. Also, Charlie seems to be depressed at some times, its not always the easiest thing to get over and to have friends to actually get your mind off of things, thats the best feeling. Towards the end of the book, I don't want to say who, but there is this fight and no matter if Patrick and Sam weren't talking to Charlie, Charlie still jumps in. In the book it says "Then, she said that Mary Elizabeth and she got over it, and she thanked me for taking Patrick's advice and staying away for as long as I did because it made things easier. So, then I said, 'So, can we be friends now?' 'Of course,' was all she said. 'And Patrick?' 'And Patrick.' 'And everyone else?' ' And everyone else.' Thats when I started crying." With all of this, Sam didn't make fun of him or even so no to being friends again. That proves she did want to still be friends with Charlie even though he was younger then all of them.