Themes in Paper Towns

            I am reading the book Paper Towns by John Green. So far in the book, Quentin, the main character, has followed his neighbor, Margo, on a journey of getting back at all the people she thinks did something bad to her. Quentin drives Margo to all the places she wants to go, and accompanies her in breaking into homes and cars and vandalizing people's property. So far, I think that there are a lot of themes that are popping up in the book, and they include friendship, love, and peer pressure.
             First of all, I think that friendship is a big theme is Paper Towns. Quentin relies on his best friends Ben and Radar. They are very close and talk about everything from the prom and girlfriends to school. Also, Quentin has a kind of friendly relationship with Margo, since they are neighbors, but they were also friends since they were little children. Margo has always been the adventurous one. For example, she was very curious when they found a dead man in the park when they were nine-years-old, but Quentin has always been a little more reserved, and not as interested in those types of weird situations.
              Ever since high school, Quentin and Margo were not as close. Margo had a lot of boyfriends and friends, and was often caught up in her popularity. Quentin just hung out with his few friends on the sideline. But it sounds like he still likes Margo. After she comes into his bedroom in the middle of the night and asked him to drive her around to help her complete a list of missions with her, and he says yes, he starts to feel things for her. When Quentin is arguing with Margo about trespassing into Sea World, he doesn't hold his grudge for long and instead drives her there and sneaks in too. I can tell that Quentin still like Margo, and wants to be friends, or even more, with her.
              Also, I think that peer pressure is a big theme in Paper Towns. Quentin agrees to drive Margo around in the middle of the night even though he doesn't think it's a good idea, because he's pressured in to it. He steals his mom's car and does whatever Margo asks him to do, driving her anywhere she wants to go, including her boyfriend's and best friend's houses in all different directions, and buying her whatever she needs, including fish and shaving cream. He helps her break into some of her friends' homes, something he didn't want to do, but he still does it, risking getting in trouble. I think he does this because he wants Margo to like him, so he's being sucked into her crime-spree so he gets to spend time with her.
             In conclusion, I think that friendship, love, and peer pressure are so far big themes in Paper Towns. The themes of friendship and peer pressure seem to relate back to love, and I think Quentin has done all these things, like vandalizing people's houses, shaving off someone's eyebrow, and leaving dead fish behind for them because he wants to impress Margo and do whatever she wants him to do because he loves her. I am very curious to read on to see how Quentin and Margo's relationship grows, if it does at all.

Caitlin's Change in Mockingbird

             Yesterday I finished reading Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine, and I thought I'd do an appreciation of it. I feel that the main character, Caitlin, has really changed throughout the book, even a lot since my last blog post, where I talked about meaningful moments in it. At the beginning of the book, I think that Caitlin was ignoring dealing with her brother's death, but by the end she was able to fully accept it.
             First of all, in the beginning of the book, Caitlin was resisting feeling any emotions about her brother's death. When her school counselor asked her how she felt during the funeral, she just replied that she felt normal and was able to doze into her own little world. Caitlin doesn't feel sad or even show that she misses her brother, who was her role-model. She goes on living life like nothing happened. She uses Devon's name in the present tense, saying that "Devon says..." instead of "Devon said..." It's as if at the beginning of the book Caitlin didn't understand that her brother was truly gone. She knows that Devon was shot and killed and that he is dead, but she doesn't seem to acknowledge that she won't be able to see him again.
             As the story progresses, Caitlin starts to get very sad about her brother's death. She tries to find closure by finishing Devon's wooden chest that he was working on, but when that doesn't make her dad fully cheer up, she realizes that completing the chest will fix only some problems. No matter what, Devon is gone, and there will always be a gap that can never be filled. At the end of the book, Caitlin finally cries for her brother, that his life was cut so short and that he'd never be able to teach her anything else again. I feel that this is when Caitlin really understands that Devon is dead. She understands that finding closure is much more than finishing the chest. By the end of the book, Caitlin notices that she is a friend and role-model of Michael, a first-grader whose mother was also killed in the same school shooting as Devon. She realizes that Michael looks up to her as much as she looked up to Devon. By the end of the book, Caitlin became more mature and grown-up. 
            A main theme in Mockingbird is understanding others, and the author made it a really big idea. Since Caitlin has Asperger's, she has trouble understanding her peers and her peers have trouble understanding her. But by the end of the book, Caitlin makes an effort to relate to others and make friends. Also, the author discusses in the author's note how a school shooter might not be understood by others and not have anyone who listens to them, and that causes them to resort to violence, and that maybe these actions could be stopped if people took the time to understand each other better. It makes sense, because if everybody cared to listen to each other, and possibly understand what they're saying, everybody would have a chance to get their thoughts out in a peaceful manner. 
           In conclusion, Caitlin has changed a lot throughout the entire book. At the beginning of Mockingbird, she didn't feel anything after her brother's death. At the end of the book, she really started to miss Devon, and she also felt the need to be Michael's friend. I liked this book for a lot of reasons. It's told from the point of view of a girl with Asperger's, and a lot of books aren't told from that kind of perspective. Also, I think the theme of understanding others is important in life. This was a very interesting book, and I recommend it to other readers. 

Meaningful Moments in Mockingbird

          I am reading the book Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine. It is about a girl named Caitlin who has Asperger's syndrome. She has trouble understanding emotions, feelings, and relating to others. She is also obsessed with words and reading dictionaries. Recently her brother Devon, who she admired and looked up to greatly, was shot and killed in a school shooting. After her brother's death, Caitlin and her father struggle to find closure. There are many meaningful moments in Mockingbird that make it a powerful and very interesting story.
             One of the most meaningful moments to me is when Caitlin goes inside Devon's wooden chest, which he was working on for a boy scout project before he was shot. On the day that Devon was killed, Caitlin's dad put a sheet over the unfinished chest, as if he never wanted to be reminded that Devon would never be able to finish it. One afternoon after school, Caitlin comes home and goes inside the chest and starts to remember being at the hospital and the doctors telling her dad and her that they tried to save Devon but they couldn't start his heart up again. While she's in the chest, Caitlin starts to flop her arms and legs, screaming "Dev-on, Dev-on", as if she was his heart inside his chest, and as if there was still a heartbeat inside of it. I think Caitlin was trying to keep Devon alive, as if there was hope that he would still be there for her. This was a very sad scene, because at the end Caitlin comes out of the chest to face reality that Devon is never coming back.  
              Another meaningful moment in Mockingbird is when Caitlin meets Michael, a first-grader, whose mother was killed in the same tragic school shooting as her brother. Caitlin sees Michael by himself on a bench, looking sad. She then goes to him and introduces herself and offers a gummy worm to him. After this, Michael feels happy, and gratefully accepts the candy. They both talk to each other about finding closure and become friends. I think this is good, because now Caitlin has someone to talk to and, especially, to relate to.   
             A third very meaningful and powerful moment in the book is when Caitlin and her dad start to work on Devon's unfinished chest. Caitlin thinks that this will help her and her father finally find closure. This is also the time when she and her dad start talking, working together and connecting for the first time in the book. I think the reason Caitlin wants to finish the chest is because she wants to do it for Devon. She knew how much finishing the chest and moving on to the next boy scout level meant to him, so she didn't want the project to be forgotten even though Devon was dead. Devon always made everything make sense to Caitlin, and was such a role model to her, so by completing the chest Caitlin is doing something for her brother, as if to thank him.    
              In conclusion, Mockingbird is a really good book with some heavy and deep moments that I think are very important to the storyline. The author, Kathryn Erskine, said in the Author's Note that she wrote this book after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007. Now that I'm reading this book, I understand more about what a truly horrible thing it is to lose someone you love in a shooting. One day you're with them, and the next day they're gone. Caitlin is a strong character, and even though she has Asperger's, she still expresses grief and missing her brother like anybody else. 


        

Review of Alex's Blog Post About The Poisonwood Bible

Alex's Blog Post: http://alexstutt5.blogspot.com/2011/10/poisonwood-bible-appreciation-and.html      

  

            I just read Alex Stutt's blog post about The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I thought that Alex's appreciation and analysis was really well-written, and even though I never read this book I could understand what was going on. I wanted to read this book for a long time, and after reading Alex's post I want to read it even more.

    

           First of all, I think that Alex's post is really well-written. In all her blog posts she uses many details to back up each of her ideas. One thing I like is that at one point Alex relates The Poisonwood Bible to A Wrinkle In Time because she thinks that the characters of Leah and Meg are alike. I think this is interesting because she's making a text-to-text connection that goes beyond one book and one individual. Another thing I also notice in all of Alex's writing on her blog is that all her posts consist of many paragraphs that stay on the same topic, each bringing a new sub-idea that supports her main idea. In this case, each paragraph is about one character, and it all relates back to how they changed after going to Africa.

   

 

            Another thing I appreciate about Alex's post is that as the reader I understand what's going on. Like I said, each paragraph is broken up into a different character in the Price family, so it's very clear who she's writing about. Alex's introduction describes what happened in the story, when it takes place, and the relationships between all the characters, and her conclusion wraps up her whole post. Even though I didn't read The Poisonwood Bible, I know that a preacher named Nathan Price, his wife, and his four daughters go on a missionary trip to convert people in the Congo to Christianity. Alex did a great job of giving enough background information about the book's setting and characters so that I, as the blog reader, could understand what happened. 

      

           After reading Alex's post, I want to read The Poisonwood Bible. She gave a lot of information about the setting and characters, but she didn't give away too much. This book sounds very interesting, and it looks like a very suspenseful story. Alex wrote that it takes place from 1959 to 1986, which is a long time, so it seems like there's a lot that happens. I'm also very interested in history, and I like that this books takes place in the past. All the characters sound very complex. Alex wrote that "Every member of their family goes on the trip thinking that they have set out to change the Congo", and I want to see what exactly they feel at the very end of the book. Alex describes all of the characters as very different people, and I enjoy reading a book told from many different perspectives. 

  

      

           In conclusion, I think that Alex's post about The Poisinwood Bible is very well-written. Alex also uses a lot of details, so it's clear to the reader what is going on in the book. I appreciate when a blog post has background information about the characters and setting, so I know what the writer's talking about, and Alex did a good job of this. After reading Alex's post, I look forward to reading The Poisonwood Bible soon. 

Setting in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (Spoiler Alert)

            I just started reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Last year I read the first book in the series, The Hunger Games, and I really liked it. Both books are set in the future, in an unfair society split up into twelve districts, where some have very wealthy people, and other districts are impoverished. In the last book, Katniss and another boy named Peeta from her district survived the Hunger Games, an event where twenty-four kids chosen from each district must fight each other until the end to stay alive. I think that in both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire the setting is an integral part of the book.
           The setting is very important in the book because first of all, that is why Katniss has so many struggles. If everything in the districts were easy and peaceful, there would be no reason for her to try so hard to stay alive. Katniss is also very brave because of the setting. She has to overcome obstacles like finding food, and she learns to hunt and even go without food sometimes. This is part of the reason I think she was able to stay alive until the end of the Games, since she was used to going without necessities and having to be without important things.
          The world set in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire is very unfair and there is a lot of injustice in it. This affects the story and the setting in many way. The Capitol, made up of a group people in charge of all the districts, has a drawing every year to randomly pick one girl and one boy from each district to compete in the Huger Games. During the Hunger Games, all the kids will die except for the last one standing. In the last games, Katniss won along with Peeta, because they altered the rules and were both able to survive. If the setting wasn't this way, these events would probably never have taken place. Katniss would have never changed, and she wouldn't have fallen in love with Peeta. If things were different, the world might have been more fair, and the people in charge would never have done this to young children. 
          Lastly, without the setting, I don't think Katniss would be so close to her family. After her father died in a mining accident and her mom become unable to care for her younger sister Prim, Katniss had to take care of the family. She had to take over getting food and making sure that everybody was okay. This is why I think Katniss feels she needs to be responsible for Prim, because there's no one else to care for her. This is also a reason I think she was able to win the Hunger Games. She was used to fending for herself and having to be tough and strong. 
          In conclusion, the setting in The Hunger Games trilogy is very important to the plot, conflicts, and characters. The struggles, injustices, and hardships of District 12 and the Capitol are why I think Katniss cares for her family so much and was tough enough to overcome the Hunger Games. If the setting was any different, I think the story would also be totally different. 

Archetypes in 13 Little Blue Envelopes

            I am reading 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson. I am at the part where Ginny has just arrived in England, following her aunt's directions in the letters she sent her. Even though Ginny's Aunt Peg is dead, I think that she is an archetype in this book, because Ginny really admires her life and her advice.

            First of all, I think that Ginny really looks up to Aunt Peg. She admires her life, and how much creativity and fun she put into it. She also likes how Aunt Peg did such interesting things with her, and how much time she spent trying to bond with her. When Ginny and her mom find out that Aunt Peg has died, she doesn't believe it because it was just so shocking to her. Aunt Peg was so lively and so imaginative, it seemed so weird that she'd never see her again. I think that Ginny looked up to Aunt Peg because of how much importance and brightness she put into every day, and this admiration is why I think Ginny felt the need to follow her aunt's letters, to take her aunt's guidance in life. 

            Also, I think that Ginny trusts her aunt, and that is why she chose to follow her instructions in the letters. Ginny knows that even though Aunt Peg acted like a teenager, she would only want the best for her. Aunt Peg really took the time to know and understand Ginny, and that's why I think she would trust her. In life, it's important to have trust in people you know are going to be there for you, people who are close to you, who know your wants and needs, like how Ginny can trust her aunt.

           Another reason I think that Aunt Peg is an archetype to Ginny is because she's a leader and mentor to her. Through the letters that she wrote for Ginny before she died, she instructs her on where to go, when, and what to do. I don't know where these letters will take Ginny, but I predict that at the end of the book she will be more educated and I suspect that she will change for the better. I wonder why Ginny's aunt wrote these letters, and I wonder where exactly it will lead her. 

           An archetypal character is someone who mentors the protagonist, they are someone who guides the younger character with their experience and wisdom.  That is why I think Aunt Peg is an archetype for Ginny. She guides her through her advice and what she knows will be best for Ginny. Ginny looks up to her aunt, and most of all she trusts her, and that is why I think that Aunt Peg is an archetype in this book. 

Separation in The Corps of the Bare-Boned Plane

          I am reading the book The Corps of the Bare-Boned Plane by Polly Horvath. In my last blog post I wrote about connection between all the characters, but as I read more of the book, I am noticing that separation is becoming the big theme. Even though each of the characters are confined on one tiny island with only themselves and have many of the same experiences, they are resisting connecting to each other. Jocelyn and Meline don't talk, Uncle Marten ignores them both, and the new housekeeper, Mrs. Mendelbaum, does not care to connect with the family.

         First of all, even though both Jocelyn and Meline's parents have just died, they do not talk and they do not try to relate. I find this funny because I think they would heal better if they grieve together, because they are both going through the same thing. Even when Meline tries to talk to Jocelyn, Jocelyn just shrugs her off and says that she's spying on her. I wonder why this is. Since they're around the same age, I think it would benefit them both to talk to each other. 


         Also, Uncle Marten separates himself from the others on the island. When I first started this book, I thought that Uncle Marten would start to connect with other people now that he's around them everyday, but as I read more, I see that he is still separating himself from other humans. All he wants to do is study his books and try to find new science research.   He's not trying to connect with anybody; he only really cares about the way things used to be, when it was only him on the isolated island with all this free time for him to just explore.     


         Thirdly, I feel that Mrs. Mendelbaum, the new housekeeper, is separated from all the other characters. I think this is because she feels that a housekeeper should just cook and clean, and stay out of the boss's way. But she also doesn't care to sit down with the family or talk to Meline and Jocelyn. Even Uncle Marten doesn't want to chat with her. Everybody is separated on this island, and I don't think it's good.   


          On page 67, Meline says "We had no real relationships, any of us. We had no one on the island. We were each of us entirely alone". I think that she is saying that no one on the island is there for each other, that no one really cares about anybody else. It's ironic because even though they're the only ones they come in contact with all day, they really don't get along with each other. I wonder if this will change as the story progresses, and the time they've been on the island gets longer.