I've started reading The Shining by Stephen King. And let me just tell you, it's amazing. I thought Stephen King might just be so venerated because his plot lines are so original and freakish. So I wasn't expecting the writing to be anything spectacular. But King's a unique and spirited author. His details are really descriptive and his characters are deep and thoughtful. So I thought I would just talk about the writing techniques that make him different from other novelists, because there are plenty.
One thing that makes King special is that in The Shining, there is no main character. For those who have only seen the movie, you might think it's Jack, but in the book, perspective rotates between Jack, his wife Wendy, and their son Danny, and sometimes it switches within the chapters. I think this really keeps the reader hooked. Sometimes the reader can become attached to one character only, even though the others also have interesting back stories. They all have different perspectives about the same events, so the reader doesn't form a biased opinion because they're instantly drawn to a character.
King includes just enough detail in his setting descriptions so that the reader is intigued but not bored. "Mr. Ullman was a step below them, buttoned into an expensive-looking brown mohair overcoat. The sun was entirely behind the mountains now, edging them with gold fire, making the shadows around things look long and purple." (page 145). King provides enough description to paint an image in the reader's mind, but doesn't go full on J.R.R. Tolkien. Also, I like the way he subtly hints at aspects of his characters, like Ullman, who's rich, and so is wearing a thick fur coat.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Review of Much Ado About Nothing
Yesterday, my class went to see Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing at the CSC theater in Manhattan. It blew me away. The way each actor was so enthusiastic about their character made the play really enjoyable. The stage itself was really interesting also--it was round and small, with strange spherical mounds of some material I couldn't identify suspended above it. I highly recommend it to any Shakespeare fans or fans of humor in general. There was a lot of both slapstick and dialogued humor, and the combination worked itself out really well.
The director made a decision that I think was really smart, which was to set the play in the 1920s. I thought this was a wise choice because the play is a comedy, and in general very jolly. In the 1920s, at least before the stock market crash, everybody was partying and celebrating a new era to come. Throughout the play, there was drinking, partying, dancing, etc. Also, what made this a good idea was that it let the female characters express themselves more, to be as silly as they were feeling. They wore flapper dresses and flirted all the time. In Shakespeare's time period, women wouldn't be allowed to sing in public or wear anything but ankle-length dresses all day. It was a much more gender-based society when Shakespeare was alive, and to have the play be a comedy, I think it was easier for the director and actors to be funny in a fun time period.
The one thing about the play I didn't like was the fact that it never explained to the audience why Don Jon is so evil. They never talked about why he never wanted people to get married and caused so much mischief. I think that the audience should always have some understanding of why the villain is villainous. Other than that, I loved the play. It was funny, romantic, and not too challenging to keep up with. I encourage my readers to look into the play and theater because I totally enjoyed myself.
The director made a decision that I think was really smart, which was to set the play in the 1920s. I thought this was a wise choice because the play is a comedy, and in general very jolly. In the 1920s, at least before the stock market crash, everybody was partying and celebrating a new era to come. Throughout the play, there was drinking, partying, dancing, etc. Also, what made this a good idea was that it let the female characters express themselves more, to be as silly as they were feeling. They wore flapper dresses and flirted all the time. In Shakespeare's time period, women wouldn't be allowed to sing in public or wear anything but ankle-length dresses all day. It was a much more gender-based society when Shakespeare was alive, and to have the play be a comedy, I think it was easier for the director and actors to be funny in a fun time period.
The one thing about the play I didn't like was the fact that it never explained to the audience why Don Jon is so evil. They never talked about why he never wanted people to get married and caused so much mischief. I think that the audience should always have some understanding of why the villain is villainous. Other than that, I loved the play. It was funny, romantic, and not too challenging to keep up with. I encourage my readers to look into the play and theater because I totally enjoyed myself.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Dear Romeo
Dear Romeo,
My good friend, I write to you with advice. You cannot get hung up on such silly things as love. There is so much more to life! Love is a dream, and you cannot catch it until you stop searching for it. Love works in strange ways. But friendship is simple, easy, carefree, not like love or dreams. Dreams are for fools...they are false fantasies that the mind creates to tantalize you, tempt you, until you leap for them and find yourself falling into an abyss of disappointment. Dreams are not the key. Love is not the key. You are young. Those minor details of life will add themselves to your picture later, without you even realizing it.
I thought myself in love once. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever laid eyes on. But she turned out to be just another dream. I used to be like you, before I cast off my heavy shell of ignorance. And I am a better man for it, for now I walk with confidence and self-respect. You, sagging under your cloak of insubstantial dreams, cannot yet see how abandoning a fantasy could ever improve life. But you will one day see, I hope, that true life is so wonderful you need no other fantasy. So come, join me in manhood, in throwing away pointless dreams and building our future which promises to be very, very real indeed.
Take my advice, friend, and you will find yourself thanking that part of you that realized I was right. Rosaline is but one maiden of millions. You will find yours--and one less close-minded. You say you love her; how many conversations have you two ever shared? It is illogical to focus on one woman, when there are so many other wonderful ones out there. You must experience the world, taste all that is sweet and bitter too! Kiss the mountain tops and graze sea floors. Adventures will open your mind. You shall see. Good luck, Romeo.
Mercutio
I decided to write a letter to Romeo from the perspective of Mercutio because I think Mercutio actually has a lot to say about the subject of love and dreams, but he's not a very big character and doesn't get to express all of it. Mercutio is a cynnical character--he believes that dreams and imagination are for the distracted minds of useless people. I decided that I wanted to give Mercutio a background story, so I invented that he had once loved a girl who broke his heart, and that this is when he changed.
I think that Mercutio is almost a brother figure to Romeo, who actually has none. He is his friend, but also who he goes to for advice, and his protector. He's like an older brother who's always there at the right time and has his own opinions. I hope this letter accurately portrayed Mercutio...he's definitely difficult to figure out.
My good friend, I write to you with advice. You cannot get hung up on such silly things as love. There is so much more to life! Love is a dream, and you cannot catch it until you stop searching for it. Love works in strange ways. But friendship is simple, easy, carefree, not like love or dreams. Dreams are for fools...they are false fantasies that the mind creates to tantalize you, tempt you, until you leap for them and find yourself falling into an abyss of disappointment. Dreams are not the key. Love is not the key. You are young. Those minor details of life will add themselves to your picture later, without you even realizing it.
I thought myself in love once. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever laid eyes on. But she turned out to be just another dream. I used to be like you, before I cast off my heavy shell of ignorance. And I am a better man for it, for now I walk with confidence and self-respect. You, sagging under your cloak of insubstantial dreams, cannot yet see how abandoning a fantasy could ever improve life. But you will one day see, I hope, that true life is so wonderful you need no other fantasy. So come, join me in manhood, in throwing away pointless dreams and building our future which promises to be very, very real indeed.
Take my advice, friend, and you will find yourself thanking that part of you that realized I was right. Rosaline is but one maiden of millions. You will find yours--and one less close-minded. You say you love her; how many conversations have you two ever shared? It is illogical to focus on one woman, when there are so many other wonderful ones out there. You must experience the world, taste all that is sweet and bitter too! Kiss the mountain tops and graze sea floors. Adventures will open your mind. You shall see. Good luck, Romeo.
Mercutio
I decided to write a letter to Romeo from the perspective of Mercutio because I think Mercutio actually has a lot to say about the subject of love and dreams, but he's not a very big character and doesn't get to express all of it. Mercutio is a cynnical character--he believes that dreams and imagination are for the distracted minds of useless people. I decided that I wanted to give Mercutio a background story, so I invented that he had once loved a girl who broke his heart, and that this is when he changed.
I think that Mercutio is almost a brother figure to Romeo, who actually has none. He is his friend, but also who he goes to for advice, and his protector. He's like an older brother who's always there at the right time and has his own opinions. I hope this letter accurately portrayed Mercutio...he's definitely difficult to figure out.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Interpreting Romeo and Juliet
Dear Friend,
From what I know about Romeo and Juliet, which is not so much, I admit, I am kind of disturbed by the characters. For one, the Montagues and Capulets will jump at the bait, any bait, to fight with each other. Some of the servants (namely Gregory and Sampson) are complete and total pigs. They treat women like their own personal sex slaves. Even for that time period, it's too intense. Also, even though the prince doesn't tolerate violence in the streets (which is understandable) he threatens death, which makes him a hippocrit, and pretty much he just thinks he's the king of the world.
It takes awhile to understand Shakespearean language, but you have to keep trying because otherwise it's a whole big jumble of nonsense. I suggest you take it line by line, because their are recognizable words so if you string the whole sentence together you can probably figure it out. Also, putting words in context can help you figure out what they mean. What are the characters feeling? What tone are they using? It helps me.
Something that I think is really the actual tragedy in this play is that Romeo and Juliet are the only decent characters so far in the book. And guess who the people are who die. You got it. Talk about injustice. Anyway, that's how I feel about Romeo and Juliet so far.
Bye! Happy reading!
From what I know about Romeo and Juliet, which is not so much, I admit, I am kind of disturbed by the characters. For one, the Montagues and Capulets will jump at the bait, any bait, to fight with each other. Some of the servants (namely Gregory and Sampson) are complete and total pigs. They treat women like their own personal sex slaves. Even for that time period, it's too intense. Also, even though the prince doesn't tolerate violence in the streets (which is understandable) he threatens death, which makes him a hippocrit, and pretty much he just thinks he's the king of the world.
It takes awhile to understand Shakespearean language, but you have to keep trying because otherwise it's a whole big jumble of nonsense. I suggest you take it line by line, because their are recognizable words so if you string the whole sentence together you can probably figure it out. Also, putting words in context can help you figure out what they mean. What are the characters feeling? What tone are they using? It helps me.
Something that I think is really the actual tragedy in this play is that Romeo and Juliet are the only decent characters so far in the book. And guess who the people are who die. You got it. Talk about injustice. Anyway, that's how I feel about Romeo and Juliet so far.
Bye! Happy reading!
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