Blog post for May 9: Analysis of I Funny

               Analysis of Conflict: In I Funny by James Patterson, the conflict of the story is a huge part because it determines the theme of the story and it provides us with background information of the main character. The protagonist and main character of the story is Jamie Grimm, who is introduced as a typical middle school teen with a dream of a career in the comedy business. However, in the rising action of the novel it tells us that Jamie is crippled from an accident that occurred earlier in his life. However, the reader is left hanging and does not know why Jamie is crippled. The reader can also infer he is adopted since his only relative he knows is his Uncle Frankie and he never speaks of his parents. On page 40, it says "I moved to Long Beach when my mother's sister adopted me. Yes, I wish my father's brother, Uncle Frankie, had adopted me, but the judge sent me to Smileyville instead." This shows that the author hints information at Jamie being adopted, and then later explicitly tells the reader to confirm their suspicion. The quote also shows a hint of Jamie being uncomfortable, since he says he wishes he were with his Uncle Frankie. This makes the reader infer about an internal conflict within Jamie because throughout the story he seems uncomfortable talking about his parents, and he is not happy with the family situation he is in.
               As the story progresses, another external conflict begins to arise when Jamie is being bullied by Stevie Kosgrov. Stevie, who is at first introduced as the school bully is always wreaking havoc and stealing kids lunch money. Since Jamie is on a wheelchair, it makes him an easy target for Stevie and they become enemies. But on page 43 it says, "Meet my brand-new big brother. And by big, I mean HUGE. You are correct. It's Stevie Kosgrov. The same bully who made my day by knocking me out of my wheelchair." This situation presents once again another conflict because it worsens Jamie's already atrocious home life, and, he will have to cope with Stevie at home and at school. This explicit information surprises the reader because it makes Jamie's life sound miserable and it makes the reader develop a connection between themselves and Jamie because they feel bad for him. This also makes the reader infer that Jamie refers to comedy so much as a way to cheer himself up since he can't help the situation he's in. This also answer's the reader's question in why Jamie prefers his Uncle Frankie over his Aunt Smiley because the reader infers Aunt Smiley lets Stevie get away with whatever he wants.
               Far into the story, as Jamie is dealing with both kinds of conflicts, another part of Jamie's internal conflict is introduced. On page 270, it says "'They all died,' I finally say. 'My mother, my father, my little sister. I was the lucky one. I was the only one who survived.'" This explicitly tells the reader about how Jamie's internal conflict arose in the first place. It also shows once again why Jamie turned to comedy to cheer himself up. The explicit information also answers the question of why Jamie is crippled, because the rest of his family died in a car crash. The conflict in the beginning of the story was unclear but there is so much clarity in this quote that it answers all the readers questions in just a few words. The reader however can now infer that Jamie might become more comfortable with his situation now that he has told the reader what happened to him that put him to all of the trouble. This makes the reader infer the conflict cannot be resolved but only Jamie can decide for himself whether to deal with his problem optimistically or pessimistically.

This is a good article that connects to the text because it shows how Jamie could solve his problem by avoiding a negative environment like living with Stevie or by putting his mind on something else.

Optimism

Fahrenheit 451: Characters

The main character of the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is Guy Montag, who I would refer to as a dynamic character due to the many changes he has undergone throughout the book. In the beginning of the novel we do not have much knowledge of Guy's background but we see him as an ordinary person in a society different from ours today. When Guy meets Clarisse, another important character in the novel, he quickly shows the first signs of being a dynamic character because Clarisse's enlightening thoughts make Montag start to question his society, which is something us as readers did not see Guy do in the exposition of the novel. After meeting Clarisse, Guy truly starts to see how society is crumbling and tries to show those around him that they need to change their society, but they can not se what Guy is trying to show them and do not want to help. This causes Guy to start making bad decisions in hopes of changing the society and again we see change in Guy because he begins having feelings of regret since he is losing so many important relationships in his life. I do not want to give out the resolution of this book so I will end this post here but I wanted to show how Bradbury's use of characterization helped add meaning to the story and also developed a character with several useful writing strategies to help the reader have a better understanding of the novel.

Book Recommendation: Hugo Cabret

     I would highly recommend this book to anybody who enjoys a story with suspense. The plot of Hugo Cabret is easy to follow through pictures and the vocabulary is modern, casual diction that is easy to understand.
     The amount of pages in this book is misleading because in reality there are a lot of pictures in the book and only about 500 pages of actual reading. I liked the usage of pictures in the book because some of the imagery was hard to follow and when I would turn the page there would always be an image for clarity. This in my opinion is a great characteristic of an author because it shows that the author is aware that some of the book is hard to follow and he wants to make sure the reader has a full understanding of the book. There was never a situation in this book where there was a pointless page, every page mattered in deciphering the plot and story line.
     In the book, we meet a young boy named Hugo who lives behind the walls in a train station located in Paris. Hugo's dad dedicated his life to making a human-like machine with a peculiar keyhole located on its chest. When Hugo's dad tragically passes away, it is up to him to find the key and finish what his father started. I think because of this plot, the author uses so many pictures in the novel because it is not a relatable subject and the pictures help the reader step into Hugo's shoes. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I hope you will read it too as I would rate it a 10/10.

Columnist Unit Post

The column I chose to read was "The very poor case for arming teachers" by Krista Ramsey. (1) To give a brief overview of the column, Krista Ramsey does not believe it is wise to give teachers firearms despite past school shootings and other forms of violence in schools around the country. (2) The hyperlink for this column is given here. (3) I felt that the best line in the text was, "But sending weapons into schools - the vast majority of which have not been and will not be the scene of violence - is the most unwise of solutions." This line impacts the reader in that it drives home Ramsey's point about arming school staff using a definite tone to ensure the reader her point is logical and correct. An example of syntax would be the use of the dash throughout the quote because it provides a pause of emphasis to show that Ramsey is trying to portray an important point or thought and wants the reader to be engaged. (4) Ramsey's style of writing is intimidating and confident. She uses cold hard facts and rhetorical questions to make the reader consider her point of view. We can see these rhetorical questions in the article such as, "Does an armed teacher leave his class to respond elsewhere?" and "Will incoming police know a staff member from an assailant?" These questions are used to intimidate the reader into looking at a subject with a new perspective. (5) Are you trying to rally support for your own argument or shoot down the arguments of others? As a columnist, are you allowed to be neutral on a subject and write about it, or do you have to choose a side before pen touches paper? What is the hardest topic to cover being a columnist?

Book Recommendation: The Giver

     If you remember back to when I did my review on The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, you probably remembered how I did not recommend the book instead of wanting everybody to read it. I would like to do the same on not recommending the book The Giver by Lois Lowry as it the hardest plot to follow compared to any other book I have ever read.
     I did not like this book because the society in the book was utopian and hard to follow and there was absolutely no resolution in the book. In fact, the book ended with him riding his bike and then the book just ended. This frustrated me because I wanted to know what would happen to the main character, Jonas. The whole plot was hard to follow as their was not much explanation and description throughout the entire book.
     No offense, but do yourself a favor and do not read this book because there was no theme, a confusing plot, and there was no point in reading because there was not a resolution. When I read a book, I like to have a nice resolution so I can reflect upon reading. In this book however, no resolution was present so the book left me confused and puzzled on what I had just read. In conclusion, I would rate this book a 2/10 so I hope you take my review into consideration.

Book Recommendation: Catching Fire

     In this book recommendation post, I would like to recommend the award-winning Catching Fire. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is a marvelous novel that follows its predecessor, The Hunger Games. Collins intrigues her readers with another suspense filled story with action at the turn of each page. 
     In Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen is once again the main character however she has experienced change since her time in her 1st Hunger Games. The 75th Hunger Games are going to be beginning soon and it is the 3rd Quarter Quell. Every 25 Hunger Games, there is a special Hunger Games called a Quarter Quell where there is a twist added to the Hunger Games. For the 3rd Quarter Quell, it was determined that past winners of the Hunger Games were to compete in the 3rd Quarter Quell. Since Katniss is the only female tribute in District 12, she is forced into the Hunger Games for her 2nd consecutive year. Katniss, or the girl on fire, thinks she is being set up by the despicable President Snow so that she will be eliminated from society and stop the rebellion she sparked after her actions in her first Hunger Games. Will the odds be in Katniss' favor this time. You will have to read and see.

                                                             Catching Fire Movie Trailer

     I would rate this book 10/10 and it was my favorite book in the Hunger Games series because it is a good sequel to the first book and it has even more action and suspense than any other book I have ever read. The book kept me on the edge of my seat for every page I flipped. If you enjoy Action/Adventure books, I would recommend this book to you but you might have trouble putting the book down due to its suspense. Overall I would say it is one of the best reads of all time.