Elie Wiesel's book, Night, was a saddening book that helped me realize what the Holocaust really encountered.
A theme of this book would be to never give up. In this book Eliezer didn't want to give up and let himself die. Eliezer wanted to stay with his father in the camps and still have hope of returning home with his family. He had faith in this and throughout the book he shows it. When his father is trying to give Eliezer his belongings because he thinks that he is about to die, Eliezer would not allow it. Eliezer had hope that his father would not die. Elizer also did not give up hope when he was temporarily separated with his father. He had hope that they would be back together again and that came true.
In this book the main characters are Eliezer and his father Chlomo. They are both Jewish and sent to camps where Jews are slaughtered. They both struggle to stay alive in these camps. They both have to work because they are strong enough to. When Eliezer has foot surgery he is separated from his father. All he wants to do is really see him again. His father feeling the same thing. They both want to stay together to feel safer. Chlomo is always trying to protect Eliezer and Eliezer is always trying to protect Chlomo. They both do not want to lose each other since they have already lost the rest of their family.
I personally can not make any connections to this book but I am sure that the Japanese Americans can. The Japanese Americans were sort of in the same boat when Japan and the United States were in war together. The Japanese Americans were rounded up and sent to camps similar to the ones in the Holocaust, although I am sure the Japanese camps were a little nicer. Both parties can probably tell similar stories of being rounded up like cattle and sent to camps being treated unfairly.
This book is 119 pages and counts as one book.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Jr. Year Completed
I am ecstatic to know that my junior year is coming to a close. To be honest, I can hardly believe it. When I look back at the past year I just have to stop and say to myself, "Where did the past year go?" It seems just like yesterday when I was driving myself to school for the first time, getting to know my new teachers, and catching up on what I missed over the summer. I think that my junior year was pretty great. I really do not have anything to complain much about.
Some things that I will definitely remember from my junior year are the football games, the lunch table, and the late nights. Football games are always fun, but for some reason I just thought that this year's game were really good. It must have been since we were pretty good this year? I will probably never be able to forget the times at the lunch table, even if I wanted to. From Andy surprising us every once in a while by sitting with us to the badomp, badomp, badomp story, I will always remember those good days. Who could ever forget the late nights we have as teenagers? I sure will not be able to either.
Junior year was great, don't get me wrong, but I seriously can NOT be any more excited for my senior year to start. Every kid dreams of being a senior in high school and it is finally here for me. No more being looked down on by the older kids. It is now our turn, we are the old kids. It sounds kind of funny to say that I am one of the older kids but I just have to get use to it because it is now a reality. I am ready to have some fun and remember the days of being a senior for a long time!
Some things that I will definitely remember from my junior year are the football games, the lunch table, and the late nights. Football games are always fun, but for some reason I just thought that this year's game were really good. It must have been since we were pretty good this year? I will probably never be able to forget the times at the lunch table, even if I wanted to. From Andy surprising us every once in a while by sitting with us to the badomp, badomp, badomp story, I will always remember those good days. Who could ever forget the late nights we have as teenagers? I sure will not be able to either.
Junior year was great, don't get me wrong, but I seriously can NOT be any more excited for my senior year to start. Every kid dreams of being a senior in high school and it is finally here for me. No more being looked down on by the older kids. It is now our turn, we are the old kids. It sounds kind of funny to say that I am one of the older kids but I just have to get use to it because it is now a reality. I am ready to have some fun and remember the days of being a senior for a long time!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Research Topic
Martin Luther King Jr. was a very inspiration character in the field of dehumanization. King lead many marches and inspired many to follow him. With his nonviolent philosophy, he moved right along with the changes in Blacks rights. King had many challenges with discrimination that certainly made him feel dehumanized, but he used faith in God and resiliency against others discretion's to get through his tough times.
I certainly think that Martin Luther King Jr.answers the question, in the face of dehumanization, how do faith and resiliency validate the human spirit. Martin Luther was dehumanized with racism and black rights. He took a stand and was a very recognized civil rights leader and lead many civil, nonviolent marches to fight for their rights. He had faith in God to get him through those times. King was resilient enough to recover from all of the discrimination's and jump right back into working for freedoms. Unfortunately, King was assassinated but his journeys led to many great opportunities for blacks.
The most interesting fact that I learned from my research was that Martin Luther's philosophy of nonviolent action still got him arrested 30 times. I would have thought that since his philosophy was so well thought out that he would not have been arrested that many times. As history shows, things do not always work out for the best, but with King's situation he was one of the many few that had to pay the price to get what they wanted.
I certainly think that Martin Luther King Jr.answers the question, in the face of dehumanization, how do faith and resiliency validate the human spirit. Martin Luther was dehumanized with racism and black rights. He took a stand and was a very recognized civil rights leader and lead many civil, nonviolent marches to fight for their rights. He had faith in God to get him through those times. King was resilient enough to recover from all of the discrimination's and jump right back into working for freedoms. Unfortunately, King was assassinated but his journeys led to many great opportunities for blacks.
The most interesting fact that I learned from my research was that Martin Luther's philosophy of nonviolent action still got him arrested 30 times. I would have thought that since his philosophy was so well thought out that he would not have been arrested that many times. As history shows, things do not always work out for the best, but with King's situation he was one of the many few that had to pay the price to get what they wanted.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Anthem Book Review
Ayn Rand's book Anthem inspires me to think outside the box and that it is okay to be different.
A theme of this book would be that it is okay to think and come up with your own ideas. It is a great thing to be different and do what you want to do. In this book Equality 7-2521 lives in a completely controlled environment. He is not allowed to think for himself. When he finds a magnificent discovery he can not let the word out that he has found it because it would be a sin. The entire society is in a rut in which they are not allowed to be of greater value than their brothers. Equality's discovery would place him above his brothers so the Home of the Scholars would not allow it.
The main character in this novel is Equality 7-2521. He has been chosen to be a street sweeper. He works a street sweeper sweeping the streets when he comes upon Liberty 5-3000. It is forbidden to show any interest in another when not assigned to that person. Neither are assigned to another citizen. Liberty 5-3000 and Equality 7-2521 do show interest in each other but they have to be discrete about it because they do not want to be caught.
The setting is in a controlled city. Everyone is being watch by the council. The entire city is controlled by them. The council chooses when they work and when they go to meetings, they choose who they mate with, and they choose when they retire. It is a completely controlled environment that has no technology in it. They are pretty much stuck in the past.
I recommend this book to pretty much any high school student. It is a very quick book to read and it is interesting. It tells of a life that I hope I never encounter but the people that are living in it seem to be happy with it except Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000.
This book counts as 1 book.
A theme of this book would be that it is okay to think and come up with your own ideas. It is a great thing to be different and do what you want to do. In this book Equality 7-2521 lives in a completely controlled environment. He is not allowed to think for himself. When he finds a magnificent discovery he can not let the word out that he has found it because it would be a sin. The entire society is in a rut in which they are not allowed to be of greater value than their brothers. Equality's discovery would place him above his brothers so the Home of the Scholars would not allow it.
The main character in this novel is Equality 7-2521. He has been chosen to be a street sweeper. He works a street sweeper sweeping the streets when he comes upon Liberty 5-3000. It is forbidden to show any interest in another when not assigned to that person. Neither are assigned to another citizen. Liberty 5-3000 and Equality 7-2521 do show interest in each other but they have to be discrete about it because they do not want to be caught.
The setting is in a controlled city. Everyone is being watch by the council. The entire city is controlled by them. The council chooses when they work and when they go to meetings, they choose who they mate with, and they choose when they retire. It is a completely controlled environment that has no technology in it. They are pretty much stuck in the past.
I recommend this book to pretty much any high school student. It is a very quick book to read and it is interesting. It tells of a life that I hope I never encounter but the people that are living in it seem to be happy with it except Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000.
This book counts as 1 book.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Ford Country Book Review
John Grisham's book Ford County intrigued me to find another book of his and read it.
John Grisham's writing style of this book is very good. The way that he wrote this book lets me be able to read the book and fully understand what he is trying to say. The way that the book is written almost makes me feel as if I am tagging along in the story. I feel like I am right in the middle of the story watching things unfold. In the story Fish Flies the lawyer has a huge secret to keep and when he talks to Odell about the settlement they have a one-on-one talk. When that scene is unfolding I feel like I am hiding behind something spying on what they are saying. I hear every word but they still don't know that I am listening.
Overall I think that one theme of this book would be to do what is right when the time is needed. In the story Blood Drive the three guys make a trip to memphis to give blood to a friend that has had an accident. They end up having a bit too much fun on the trip and something happens. They were headed to Memphis to do the right thing but on the way there they just get side tracked. They lose sight of what their journey is actually for. They end up upsetting many. I have learned from that to "keep my eye on the prize."
I can make connection to this book in a few ways. In the story Blood Drive they three guys that make the trip to Memphis reminds me of a few people that I know. They want to do what is right and sometimes they get set on the right path, but what almost always happens is they fall into traps that can bring them all the way down to rock bottom. In the story Fish Flies Mack Stafford is barely making ends meet. He is barely making money. In the world today, many people are not making the ends meet. They don't make enough money to pay for the bills that they have racked up. It is a struggling time.
I would recommend this book to people who get lost in longer books. This book is fairly long but has multiple short stories in it. They keep me interested in the book.
This book has 308 pages and is worth two books.
John Grisham's writing style of this book is very good. The way that he wrote this book lets me be able to read the book and fully understand what he is trying to say. The way that the book is written almost makes me feel as if I am tagging along in the story. I feel like I am right in the middle of the story watching things unfold. In the story Fish Flies the lawyer has a huge secret to keep and when he talks to Odell about the settlement they have a one-on-one talk. When that scene is unfolding I feel like I am hiding behind something spying on what they are saying. I hear every word but they still don't know that I am listening.
Overall I think that one theme of this book would be to do what is right when the time is needed. In the story Blood Drive the three guys make a trip to memphis to give blood to a friend that has had an accident. They end up having a bit too much fun on the trip and something happens. They were headed to Memphis to do the right thing but on the way there they just get side tracked. They lose sight of what their journey is actually for. They end up upsetting many. I have learned from that to "keep my eye on the prize."
I can make connection to this book in a few ways. In the story Blood Drive they three guys that make the trip to Memphis reminds me of a few people that I know. They want to do what is right and sometimes they get set on the right path, but what almost always happens is they fall into traps that can bring them all the way down to rock bottom. In the story Fish Flies Mack Stafford is barely making ends meet. He is barely making money. In the world today, many people are not making the ends meet. They don't make enough money to pay for the bills that they have racked up. It is a struggling time.
I would recommend this book to people who get lost in longer books. This book is fairly long but has multiple short stories in it. They keep me interested in the book.
This book has 308 pages and is worth two books.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Hoot Book Review
Carl Hiaasen's book, Hoot, intrigues me to stop and think about my actions.
A theme of Hoot would be that before taking actions, think about the effects caused by what you are doing my cause. In the book a pancake place is trying to open a new store on the site where endangered burrowing owls are nesting. A kid that calls himself Mullet Fingers is not okay with this. He keeps vandalizing their property to try and discourage them from opening the resturaunt.
The scene of this book is set at the pancake house construction site. The site is where the burrowing owls are nesting. The entire book is based on this site because if the pancake house were to build on another site it would solve all of the problems. Mullett Fingers is very concerned about the owls. They are endangered and he does not want to let any of them die if they do not have to. Roy is not too happy about it either after Mullett Fingers tells him about the situation. They vandalize the property there trying to persuade them from building there.
I can compare to this book because I have heard about a story about investors wanting to build a shopping center in a swamp. Building the shopping center in that location would include filling in land to build it up. That would result in the runoff water and other dranage nowhere to go. Places would flood more if this was built. There is a lot of contraversy about building this shopping center in this location because of all of that.
I recomend this book to the younger generations. It is a very easy book to read. This book also teaches a lesson about thinking before you act. It is a great book for kids to read.
This book has 292 pages and is worth 2 books.
A theme of Hoot would be that before taking actions, think about the effects caused by what you are doing my cause. In the book a pancake place is trying to open a new store on the site where endangered burrowing owls are nesting. A kid that calls himself Mullet Fingers is not okay with this. He keeps vandalizing their property to try and discourage them from opening the resturaunt.
The scene of this book is set at the pancake house construction site. The site is where the burrowing owls are nesting. The entire book is based on this site because if the pancake house were to build on another site it would solve all of the problems. Mullett Fingers is very concerned about the owls. They are endangered and he does not want to let any of them die if they do not have to. Roy is not too happy about it either after Mullett Fingers tells him about the situation. They vandalize the property there trying to persuade them from building there.
I can compare to this book because I have heard about a story about investors wanting to build a shopping center in a swamp. Building the shopping center in that location would include filling in land to build it up. That would result in the runoff water and other dranage nowhere to go. Places would flood more if this was built. There is a lot of contraversy about building this shopping center in this location because of all of that.
I recomend this book to the younger generations. It is a very easy book to read. This book also teaches a lesson about thinking before you act. It is a great book for kids to read.
This book has 292 pages and is worth 2 books.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Cause & Effect: Suicide
Depression does not make that good impression.
If you have this condition,
Please learn to get help with this submission.
If you are feeling a little lonely,
Please tell some of the family.
When your feeling abused,
Do not let it blow that fuse.
When you think about suicide,
Don't let it ruin your pride.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Inkheart Book Review
Cornelia Funke's book, Inkheart, grabs my attention and leads me into a great book.
A theme of this book would be that people always need to think about their actions and if they were to make a mistake then they should try to correct them. In this book Meggie's father, Mo, read aloud from a book, Inkheart, and his magic releases a character from the book. Mo needed to think about what he was doing releasing the character into the world. Meggie now has to rewrite the story that has changed her life due to her father's actions. Really, Mo should have been the one correcting his own mistakes.
I like the author's reading style of this book, it has put me on the edge a few times. The book kept my attention and it was easy for me to keep reading until the end. I stayed interested in this book and it was an easy book to read, level wise. It was a bit longer than my normal book, but was good.
I can compare this book to a Harry Potter book. There are many villains within both books. Characters want to capture the villain and solve the problems the villain has created. The characters think that once the villain is captured then the problems will be solved, while that does happen most of the time sometimes it does not work out like they had initially planned. The plan is to find the villain and capture him and take him back, but it is not as easy as it sounds.
I would recommend this book to any fantasy book lover. This book has a lot of make believe situations in it, but is still not a cartoon. The overall scene of this book is imagined. If you love stories about villains and people trying to capture them, this would be a great book for you to read.
576 pages = 3 books
A theme of this book would be that people always need to think about their actions and if they were to make a mistake then they should try to correct them. In this book Meggie's father, Mo, read aloud from a book, Inkheart, and his magic releases a character from the book. Mo needed to think about what he was doing releasing the character into the world. Meggie now has to rewrite the story that has changed her life due to her father's actions. Really, Mo should have been the one correcting his own mistakes.
I like the author's reading style of this book, it has put me on the edge a few times. The book kept my attention and it was easy for me to keep reading until the end. I stayed interested in this book and it was an easy book to read, level wise. It was a bit longer than my normal book, but was good.
I can compare this book to a Harry Potter book. There are many villains within both books. Characters want to capture the villain and solve the problems the villain has created. The characters think that once the villain is captured then the problems will be solved, while that does happen most of the time sometimes it does not work out like they had initially planned. The plan is to find the villain and capture him and take him back, but it is not as easy as it sounds.
I would recommend this book to any fantasy book lover. This book has a lot of make believe situations in it, but is still not a cartoon. The overall scene of this book is imagined. If you love stories about villains and people trying to capture them, this would be a great book for you to read.
576 pages = 3 books
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
My Theme Word for 2011
My theme word for 2011 is optimism. I want to be very optimistic throughout 2011. If I go through life being pessimistic then I will not go very far and be someone honorable. Being optimistic is more than just keeping your head up, it is reaching out and affecting others too. Not only do I want to stay happy and let good opportunities come to me but I also want good outcomes for others as well. When I have opportunities in front of me I want to be able to take them and succeed with them.
When I have optimism I will have hope for myself and others, hope that everything goes well and hope that everyone will be able to do what they want to be able to do. Last year I was always stressed about everything. This year if I just take a breather and be a little less stressed I can be looking at the brighter side of things. Last year I would also always assume the worst for everything. This year I need to think about a good outcome for situations rather than just assume the worst first thing.
Being optimistic can help me through this year and years to come if I am just able to follow through with it. Not only is this a theme word for me but it can also be a very good theme word for others as well. If everyone were to be a little more optimistic throughout life then this world would be better place.
When I have optimism I will have hope for myself and others, hope that everything goes well and hope that everyone will be able to do what they want to be able to do. Last year I was always stressed about everything. This year if I just take a breather and be a little less stressed I can be looking at the brighter side of things. Last year I would also always assume the worst for everything. This year I need to think about a good outcome for situations rather than just assume the worst first thing.
Being optimistic can help me through this year and years to come if I am just able to follow through with it. Not only is this a theme word for me but it can also be a very good theme word for others as well. If everyone were to be a little more optimistic throughout life then this world would be better place.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Me, Myself and Ike Book Review
K.L. Denman's book, Me, Myself and Ike, is probably the best book the I have read lately.
A theme of this book would be that you don't always have to do what you are told. In the book, Kit Latimer's friend Ike, tells Kit to do many things. Some of these things were to steal a Blackberry from a store. Kit has hesitations about it but then follows through with the plan and stole the phone. Ike also tells Kit to break into his parent's liquor cabinet and get vodka out of it, Kit does so. Listening to others can sometimes be good but there are too many times that it is bad, so always go with your gut feeling and do what is right.
In this book the main character is Kit Latimer. He is a teenage boy that used to be happy. He had a wonderful girlfriend and he was close to his friends, and extremely close to his family. Now Kit is under the influences of Ike. Ike is very persuasive in convincing Kit to do bad things. Kit once a good kid, now has a secret from everyone except Ike. Ike is going along with Ike in his secret mission.They both do some bad things in order to complete the mission.
I can make a few connections to this book. In this book Kit falls into the trap of peer pressure. Peer pressure is a very big thing in this world right now. Everyday everyone is tempted to do something that they may necessarily may not want to do. For example, Last week I witnessed a guy trying to convince his friend to steal an item from a gas station. Its against the law and the friend knew better than to do it. Kit stole the Blackberry from the phone store and he knew it was wrong and was very paranoid about it.
I would recommend this book to everyone. It is a very easy book to read and it is short. For short book lovers, this would be a great book for them to read. Even to people that like longer books, this will still be a good book. This is a very good book and I would not mind reading it again.
192 pages = 1 book
A theme of this book would be that you don't always have to do what you are told. In the book, Kit Latimer's friend Ike, tells Kit to do many things. Some of these things were to steal a Blackberry from a store. Kit has hesitations about it but then follows through with the plan and stole the phone. Ike also tells Kit to break into his parent's liquor cabinet and get vodka out of it, Kit does so. Listening to others can sometimes be good but there are too many times that it is bad, so always go with your gut feeling and do what is right.
In this book the main character is Kit Latimer. He is a teenage boy that used to be happy. He had a wonderful girlfriend and he was close to his friends, and extremely close to his family. Now Kit is under the influences of Ike. Ike is very persuasive in convincing Kit to do bad things. Kit once a good kid, now has a secret from everyone except Ike. Ike is going along with Ike in his secret mission.They both do some bad things in order to complete the mission.
I can make a few connections to this book. In this book Kit falls into the trap of peer pressure. Peer pressure is a very big thing in this world right now. Everyday everyone is tempted to do something that they may necessarily may not want to do. For example, Last week I witnessed a guy trying to convince his friend to steal an item from a gas station. Its against the law and the friend knew better than to do it. Kit stole the Blackberry from the phone store and he knew it was wrong and was very paranoid about it.
I would recommend this book to everyone. It is a very easy book to read and it is short. For short book lovers, this would be a great book for them to read. Even to people that like longer books, this will still be a good book. This is a very good book and I would not mind reading it again.
192 pages = 1 book
Thursday, January 6, 2011
New Year, New Goals
In the year 2011 I hope to achieve many goals. I hope to keep good grades, read more, and run more. In doing all three, it would benefit me greatly. These three goals that I have set are small but very important.
Keeping good grades is probably the most important goal that I have set. When my grades are all A's it will return to be very rewarding. Keeping to good grades will boost my GPA and help me get into college. Every kid wants to get in to college, I just want to ensure that I will be accepted to the college that I want to learn at. Not only is keeping my grades high important for college but it is also important so that I pass the class and can move on to 12th grade.
Reading is something that I struggle with. I do not read near enough. This results in my reading level not being where it should be. I never have been very interested in reading. Reading is crucial to passing all English classes. Not only is reading important for school but I will be reading my entire life whether it is signs, directions, a newspaper, or instructions. It will be very hard to get through life if I can not read very well.
I love to run. Running is one of my favorite hobbies. While I do not much time to run, I still like to when I can. I love to run long distances. If I am able to manage my time better I will then find time to run. Running will keep me healthy and feeling better. I always love the feeling when I have just finished running three or so miles. While running I also like listening to music so I guess running relaxes me.
Keeping good grades is probably the most important goal that I have set. When my grades are all A's it will return to be very rewarding. Keeping to good grades will boost my GPA and help me get into college. Every kid wants to get in to college, I just want to ensure that I will be accepted to the college that I want to learn at. Not only is keeping my grades high important for college but it is also important so that I pass the class and can move on to 12th grade.
Reading is something that I struggle with. I do not read near enough. This results in my reading level not being where it should be. I never have been very interested in reading. Reading is crucial to passing all English classes. Not only is reading important for school but I will be reading my entire life whether it is signs, directions, a newspaper, or instructions. It will be very hard to get through life if I can not read very well.
I love to run. Running is one of my favorite hobbies. While I do not much time to run, I still like to when I can. I love to run long distances. If I am able to manage my time better I will then find time to run. Running will keep me healthy and feeling better. I always love the feeling when I have just finished running three or so miles. While running I also like listening to music so I guess running relaxes me.
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