Wednesday, March 18, 2015

A Text to World Connection in Paper Towns

In the novel, Paper Towns  by John Green we are learning more about Margo as we go further into the story. She is very angry with her friends and what they have done to her and she is getting revenge on them. She tells these people that their friendship/ relationship "sleeps with the fishes." This saying will make more sense if you chose to read the book. Through out this story you learn more about Margo's life and the drama. There is one example that stuck out to me the most.

In one part of Margo's adventure she plans to get revenge on her old best friend Becca. Becca was with Margo's boyfriend Chuck secretly and as you can imagine, just like everyone else, Margo is not happy. She is talking to Q and asking him why he would cheat on her with Becca. Q's responce seems to make sense to us; he claims that it's based on her looks and that she is considered "hot". That seems to make a lot of sense to us since many people in society will look at someone's looks. However, Margo's response to Q's answer really stood out to me. On page 37 Margo responds by saying, "That's always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people would want to be around someone because they're pretty. It's like picking your breakfast cereals based on the color instead of taste." The simile or connection seemed very deep to me. Do we ever pick our food based on it's color? We may sometimes, but if we open our mind and give it a try it could become the best meal we've ever had. This could be the same way in relationships. In today's society we seem to look at someone's appearance rather than their personality. I always hear "So and so is so hot." Although that may be a compliment I believe that we should be looking at someone's personality. Becca was considered to be a very mean person. If we chose who we liked by personality then she probably wouldn't be in this situation or many people would not date her. So, just like food we should pick people based on there flavor/ personality.

I can relate this to today's society very well. Like I said I hear so many people discussing people's looks rather than talking about one's personality. I once was told to not mainly look at someones appearance especially when I'mat the time in my life when I'm looking for a husband when I'm older. That person will look very different in 50 years compared to when we would first meet. However,  there personality should remain the same. This proves how you should fall in love with someones personality then looking at how they look. I'm not saying it's bad to be good looking. That is a blessing and I personally think everyone  is beautiful. I am just saying that people should be picked by personality first. So hopefully we will be picking friends and dates just like how we pick out our food.


Photo found on:
http://bricksandpics.com/2012/10/17/fruit-loops/

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Fahrenheit 415 Group Theme Analysis Project

Engaging with difficult, uncomfortable thoughts and experiences is the only route to true happiness.   
Lydia Meredith, Lindsey Learned, Alex Gao, Natalee Jobert, Mariana Vinseiro: Bell 7
Timeline of the Development of Theme:

Montag Montag Montag’s house Granger tells The group
meets witnesses a is burned due Montag his leaves to
Clarisse woman die to the books plan for society rebuild society


Montag and Montag begins   Montag meets Montag and the
Mildred grow to secretly read Granger and a men watch the
distant group of men city blow up
Three Quotes:
Beginning: Montag’s unhappy
Middle: Montag engages in difficult thoughts
End: Montag is more happy
Montag is living in a society full of censorship, hardship, and tragedy. Montag doesn’t question society and enjoys his job to burn houses. When a girl name Clarisse questions his marriage, job and life in general he realizes he’s unhappy. We chose this quote to show how Clarisse had effected Montag, and how Montag wasn't happy.
Montag begins to question society and wants to change the rules regarding books. Montag doesn't wants to be a fireman and doesn't want to burn books. This is an example of Montag beginning to go against society. This is the main conflict throughout the book. We chose this quote to show how Montag is beginning to think that books are important and he wants other people to know.
Montag joins a group of men who enjoy reading and want to change society. Montag and the group watch the destruction of the city. They plan to memorize books and eventually when society is rebuilt they will rewrite the books. We chose this quote because it shows how Montag is doing better and is already beginning to move on from the evil society.
“He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back.” (Bradbury 9)
“This afternoon I thought that if it turned out that books were worthwhile, we might get a press and print some extra copies”
(Bradbury 81)
“Perhaps later in the morning, when the sun was up and had warmed them they would begin to talk, or just say things they remembered, to be sure they were there, to be absolutely certain things were safe in them.”(Bradbury 157)


The Theme is important to understanding the story because the theme shows how Montage has been able to change from being sad to happy by going against society.
It is important to understand the theme because it shows that you need to confront your fears/concerns in order to be happy.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Fahrenheit 451: Montag is a Dynamic Character

I have recently finished the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This book was written around World War II and the setting is in the future. In this book the main character, Montag is a fire man. However, the firemen in the book burn houses and books rather than putting out fires. Books are banned in society and you can get in serious trouble for possessing one. This involves Montag's job, he has to burn the books and the building the books were found in. People in this society don't notice much and don't have a lot of in depth conversations. Everyone seems happy and there seems to be no depressing topics discussed. Montag never took a lot of thought into why books were burnt until he meets an interesting young lady.

In the beginning of the book Montag meets a girl named Clairese. She is very different compared to everyone else; she asks questions and observes what's around her. During their encounter Montag thinks Claiese is very strange when she asks him questions and shares the information she knows. He often tends to laugh about her questions or he answers the questions immediately. Claiese notices this and tells Montag, "You laugh when I haven't been funny and you answer right off. You never stop to think what I've asked you." This shows us how at first Montag just goes with the flow and dosent realize much about society. However, the questions Clairese asks him will change his perspective on society.

Eventually in the book, Montag begins to realize how horrible his society truly is. He wonders why books are banned and why there are always happy endings. He even begins to hate work because of the burning their required to do. On page 49 Montag tells Mildred, "We burnt an old women with her books." He repeats this again as well. I think this shows how Montag starts to realize how messed up society is and he begins to have feelings. He probably never thought of the people and books and why the burnings were occurring. This transformation makes him a dynamic character based on how Montag used to just go with what his civilization said to beginning to question his life and what's around it.

This picture is from:
http://www.ideachampions.com/weblogs/archives/2011/04/1_it_is_not_the.shtml

Monday, March 2, 2015

The Best Thing About Paper Towns

In John Green's book, Paper Towns, a boy named Q used to be best friends with his next door neighbor Margo. However, life and other friends got in the way of their friendship and now they are just neighbors. Q is secretly in love with Margo even though Margo probably barely pays much attention to him since they are in two different social groups. But, one night Margo comes into Q's house and asks him to drive her to different places in town to fix certain problems she's facing. Although Q has no idea about what she's going to do he agrees to help her. During their adventure he starts to question who Margo really is.

The best thing about my book has to be the mystery in the book. The mystery is who Margo really is. In the book you just assume that she is the average popular girl. When you read her list of items she needs to fix her problems you start to wonder what is wrong in her life that has to be fixed. On page 30 Margo tells Q, "Tonight, darling, we are going to right a lot of wrongs. And we are going to wrong some rights. The first shall be last; the last shall be first; the meek shall do some earth-inheriting. But before we can radically reshape the world, we need to shop."At this point you are very curious on what Margo will do. You are also nervous for how Margo's actions will affect Q.

The mystery has been keeping me at the edge of my seat and I'm sure you will be at the edge of your seat as well. You always wonder what is happening in Margo's life and why she needs to fix it. I am curious also on why she picked Q to help her. It also makes you wonder if you really know everything about a person. Q thought he knew exactly who Margo was, he thought she was the girl who had it all, but he was wrong. If you like books involving a mystery that is modern you would definitely enjoy this book.


Picture is from:
http://www.business2community.com/marketing/checklist-qualify-call-list-0700086