As I finished The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I realized that Arnold is the perfect example of the commonly used phrase and awesome song 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' And that is also the moral of the story, I think, that no matter what life throws at you it's always worth it to keep going. I chose some examples of this moral and the phrase in the book and analyzed them below.
Arnold has a terrible home life. Everyone in his family loves him, but sometimes that isn't enough. Both of his parents are alcoholics so he doesn't always receive the sober attention he needs. And this sounds awful, and it is, but it also might have given Arnold an advantage. He learned to be independent to some degree and not have to rely on his parents all the time, like most kids his age.
He's hydrocephalic which means he was born with "water on the brain" and that he's constantly at risk of seizures. However this means Arnold will learn to always be prepared in case of emergency, and that will definitely help him to survive on his reservation when people die every day. Even if other people can't hand Arnold the tools, he will create makeshift ones because he's a survivor.
He has only one friend on the Spokane reservation on which everyone is poor and drunk and starving, named Rowdy. He learns next to nothing in school. So his life isn't peachy. But Arnold uses all the anger and passion at his wreck of a life to push him further and to strive in his new school outside of the reservation. He managed to not just survive but thrive because he had a drive. (Sorry, I couldn't help it.) nd he only started at his new school because his teacher realized he hadn't given up on his life. All the other kids felt only acceptance of the horrible life sure to be ahead of them.
Not Arnold, though. He's a survivor, he's not gonna give up, he's gonna work harder. (This post has a lot of opportunities...)
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The Absolutely Opinionated Entry of a Part-Time Blogger
I chose The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie as my coming-of-age book. There are a lot of identity crises involved in the life of Native American main character Arnold. Now that I'm halfway through, and I've made inferences and observations about what makes Arnold tick, I'm ready to type them up and share them with you.
Arnold starts of unlike most characters in coming of age books. Most characters are too ignorant of the world, and need to know that bad things do happen in it. By the falling action, they've witnessed or learned about some horrific act of violence or moral void. Then they strive to go on living their lives, processing that information and dealing with it. In this, they start to mature and become adults. Arnold, however, starts in the opposite, and follows more the plot line of a Disney movie. Arnold's life starts out badly. He grows up on a Native American reservation where lots of adults are drunk, unemployed, and underfed. His dog is shot to put it out of its misery. Nothing seems to be going Arnold's way, so he just accepts that he will be treated like a second-class citizen all of his life. He will have no job, and probably become an alcoholic, like the example that has been set for him.
Suddenly, Arnold's life is flipped upside down (sound familiar?) and he starts attending an upper-class school with a white majority of students. He's not accepted. He's not even tolerated by anyone but the teachers. Some days he has to walk a few miles home by himself because his dad fails to pick him up. He's bullied and beat up. His life went from bad to worse. He thought his life was turning up when his academics were prep-school worthy. But it turns out he just has to go through one more of life's hoops, and that's just until he graduates. Will he ever get a break?
I don't know--I'm only halfway through. But I'll find out. And then I'll tell you about it!
Arnold starts of unlike most characters in coming of age books. Most characters are too ignorant of the world, and need to know that bad things do happen in it. By the falling action, they've witnessed or learned about some horrific act of violence or moral void. Then they strive to go on living their lives, processing that information and dealing with it. In this, they start to mature and become adults. Arnold, however, starts in the opposite, and follows more the plot line of a Disney movie. Arnold's life starts out badly. He grows up on a Native American reservation where lots of adults are drunk, unemployed, and underfed. His dog is shot to put it out of its misery. Nothing seems to be going Arnold's way, so he just accepts that he will be treated like a second-class citizen all of his life. He will have no job, and probably become an alcoholic, like the example that has been set for him.
Suddenly, Arnold's life is flipped upside down (sound familiar?) and he starts attending an upper-class school with a white majority of students. He's not accepted. He's not even tolerated by anyone but the teachers. Some days he has to walk a few miles home by himself because his dad fails to pick him up. He's bullied and beat up. His life went from bad to worse. He thought his life was turning up when his academics were prep-school worthy. But it turns out he just has to go through one more of life's hoops, and that's just until he graduates. Will he ever get a break?
I don't know--I'm only halfway through. But I'll find out. And then I'll tell you about it!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Extended Response: Hunger Games Director DRAMA
I read an article about how Gary Ross will not be directing Catching Fire, the sequel to the world-famous book and movie The Hunger Games. I think this decision will have a bigger impact than might have been predicted by Ross. This article is important because Ross' decision affects not only how the movie will be changed in terms of cinematography, but also the perception by fans of the books, how accurately the movie will portray the book Catching Fire, and the general popularity of Suzanne Collins' masterpieces.
Collins' books caused a craze throughout the United States and overseas. The topic of post-apocalyptic child-killings stirs up the emotions of many people. The fact that the Hunger Games is told by a girl subjected to horror like that who completely detests the entire system is what makes the subject not only digestible but popular, because the writing is actually superb, and the plot is fascinating and completely original. This is why I think the impact of a new director on the next movie might affect the popularity itself. Says Ross, "I simply don't have the time I need to write and prep the movie I would have wanted to make..." (Rolling Stone, 'Gary Ross Will Not Direct "Hunger Games" Sequel'). Since the first movie was a big issue of staying true to the plot for may fans of the books, the fact that the directing for the sequel will be completely different might be pushing the limits for some. When fans won't see the movie, the books' ratings could drop.
No director can ever guarantee that they'll provide good ratings. It's difficult to stay true to the plot of a book when you're only allotted a specific amount of time. Fans of the Hunger Games books all have varying opinions of and levels of devotion to the new movie. How will they react to the new one, with a new director? What will happen if it's less accurate than the last? There is definitely lots of pressure on the new director, once they come forward, to present a film worthy of Collins' books.
Needless to say, the world is waiting with baited breath for Catching Fire. The movie is bound to be remarkable, and I can't wait. What awaits? We don't know, but whatever happens, whatever we see, the books remain very much intact, a living legend, and a symbol for peace and justice.
Collins' books caused a craze throughout the United States and overseas. The topic of post-apocalyptic child-killings stirs up the emotions of many people. The fact that the Hunger Games is told by a girl subjected to horror like that who completely detests the entire system is what makes the subject not only digestible but popular, because the writing is actually superb, and the plot is fascinating and completely original. This is why I think the impact of a new director on the next movie might affect the popularity itself. Says Ross, "I simply don't have the time I need to write and prep the movie I would have wanted to make..." (Rolling Stone, 'Gary Ross Will Not Direct "Hunger Games" Sequel'). Since the first movie was a big issue of staying true to the plot for may fans of the books, the fact that the directing for the sequel will be completely different might be pushing the limits for some. When fans won't see the movie, the books' ratings could drop.
No director can ever guarantee that they'll provide good ratings. It's difficult to stay true to the plot of a book when you're only allotted a specific amount of time. Fans of the Hunger Games books all have varying opinions of and levels of devotion to the new movie. How will they react to the new one, with a new director? What will happen if it's less accurate than the last? There is definitely lots of pressure on the new director, once they come forward, to present a film worthy of Collins' books.
Needless to say, the world is waiting with baited breath for Catching Fire. The movie is bound to be remarkable, and I can't wait. What awaits? We don't know, but whatever happens, whatever we see, the books remain very much intact, a living legend, and a symbol for peace and justice.
DIY Writing: Why Plagiarism is Wrong
What did the student do wrong? What could he/she have done to include the source correctly?
The student who plagiarized the passage from A Brief Understanding of the Starry Night Paintings violated the rights of the author (unknown) of the article. The article was written to be read and appreciated as an analysis of the painting, not as free to be stolen. Plagiarism is a form of theft, because it's taking something somebody deserves credit for because it's their work, and taking credit for the time and effort they themselves put into it, not you. It's stealing time, hard work, and honesty. The student, in order to correctly include the source, could have copy & pasted the passage but put it in quotation marks and cite the source. They also could have paraphrased and said the same idea using different words.
Write a sentence using the original source correctly; use a quotation or paraphrase. Also, make sure to cite correctly.
Original sentence: "This sky keeps the viewer's eyes moving about the painting, following the curves and creating a visual dot to dot with the stars." (http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starryindex.html)
Paraphrased: The night sky in the painting lets the person looking at it follow the stars like a pattern, and keeps their eyes moving along the swirls.
What are at least 3 ways to avoid plagiarizing?
The three ways to avoid plagiarizing are really very easy. The first is quotation, which is including a passage from the original text but putting it in quotation marks ("") and citing the source correctly. The second is paraphrasing, my personal favorite, which is keeping the idea from the source but stating it using different words (see above.) The third way is summarizing, which is taking information from a source, putting it in different words, and minimizing it, trimming it down to main ideas.
The student who plagiarized the passage from A Brief Understanding of the Starry Night Paintings violated the rights of the author (unknown) of the article. The article was written to be read and appreciated as an analysis of the painting, not as free to be stolen. Plagiarism is a form of theft, because it's taking something somebody deserves credit for because it's their work, and taking credit for the time and effort they themselves put into it, not you. It's stealing time, hard work, and honesty. The student, in order to correctly include the source, could have copy & pasted the passage but put it in quotation marks and cite the source. They also could have paraphrased and said the same idea using different words.
Write a sentence using the original source correctly; use a quotation or paraphrase. Also, make sure to cite correctly.
Original sentence: "This sky keeps the viewer's eyes moving about the painting, following the curves and creating a visual dot to dot with the stars." (http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starryindex.html)
Paraphrased: The night sky in the painting lets the person looking at it follow the stars like a pattern, and keeps their eyes moving along the swirls.
What are at least 3 ways to avoid plagiarizing?
The three ways to avoid plagiarizing are really very easy. The first is quotation, which is including a passage from the original text but putting it in quotation marks ("") and citing the source correctly. The second is paraphrasing, my personal favorite, which is keeping the idea from the source but stating it using different words (see above.) The third way is summarizing, which is taking information from a source, putting it in different words, and minimizing it, trimming it down to main ideas.
Two Favorite Student Blogs
I read two amazing blogs from my class, Izzy's and Alli's. Izzy's blog about the relationship between Romeo and Juliet was very engaging. I loved how she really emphasized her opinion about the "love" they shared, using exclamation points and underlining stressed words. It really gave me a window into Izzy's thoughts on the matter. Izzy thinks that the love between Romeo and Juliet is based on beauty and the teenage need to rebel. To reinforce this claim, she provided plenty of text evidence. She included passage and page numbers that showed me the process by which she formed her statement. All the proof made me realize her side of the argument.
Alli's review of Much Ado About Nothing was indeed worthy of a journalist. The way she described the play made me realize details of the show I didn't even notice when I was watching it. And she didn't just talk about the actors and how they portrayed their characters, although she did a good job with that too. But she described the set, the lighting, and the transitions from scene to scene. This made for a complete and advanced response that got me thinking again about my experience watching it. Alli let me see the play through her eyes and think through her brain, to see her thought process. This is always the mark of a good writer.
Izzy and Alli inspired me to be better in my own blog posts. From Izzy I learned about forming opinions of the text, and not being afraid to confront the intentions of the author. Also, reading Izzy's blog helped me realize that text evidence is a must-have when trying to prove a point--and there's no limit either. The more proof of your claim, the better, which is something Izzy did flawlessly. Alli's blog post reminded me to be mindful of small details, and to let the reader know how you perceived something, even something that at first may have seemed arbitrary.
Alli's review of Much Ado About Nothing was indeed worthy of a journalist. The way she described the play made me realize details of the show I didn't even notice when I was watching it. And she didn't just talk about the actors and how they portrayed their characters, although she did a good job with that too. But she described the set, the lighting, and the transitions from scene to scene. This made for a complete and advanced response that got me thinking again about my experience watching it. Alli let me see the play through her eyes and think through her brain, to see her thought process. This is always the mark of a good writer.
Izzy and Alli inspired me to be better in my own blog posts. From Izzy I learned about forming opinions of the text, and not being afraid to confront the intentions of the author. Also, reading Izzy's blog helped me realize that text evidence is a must-have when trying to prove a point--and there's no limit either. The more proof of your claim, the better, which is something Izzy did flawlessly. Alli's blog post reminded me to be mindful of small details, and to let the reader know how you perceived something, even something that at first may have seemed arbitrary.
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