Allusions in Paper Towns

I am over half way done with Paper Towns by John Green. Margo is now missing and she wants Q to find her. Q goes out to find her and he seems to always be obsessing over her. Through out his frantic search, he seems to realize he might have not known the real Margo. Through out his search he encounters a creepy and sketchy area, a map, records, prom drama, you name it. But the most important clue in my opinion has to be a poem. This is an example of an allusion.

What does a poem have to do with anything? Well, a lot actually. The poem "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman, is a clue Margo leaves behind so she can be found. Margo has been known to leave behind clues when she leaves. For example, when she ran away to Mississippi she left the letters of alphabet soup to spell the state. Q constantly returns to this poem for clues and it has helped him gain a lot of information on Margo's whereabouts. One quote from Whitman can be found on page 116. It quotes, "Unscrew the locks from the doors!

Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!" Q and his friends spent a while trying to decode this part of the poem. Eventually they come to the discovery that the poem literally means to unscrew the doors locks. Who would have thought? They eventually find an address in Q's door. This is another clue and the clues are always following each other. Using this allusion has made this book even more interesting and makes the mystery have even more of a suspenseful mood. "Song of Myself" is always leaving me at the edge of my seat trying to decode the poems meaning. Trust me, it makes the book more intense.  

I like this allusion through out this piece of writing. The poem could be considered a well known craft of writing. I like how they constantly go back to the poem and give quotes from "Song of Myself". I feel like I am right next to Q trying to solve the case. I am always asking my self "Now what does this line mean?" I like how it's not a simple guess and how you usually have to go in depth and apply it to what you know about Margo. I know for sure that answer to Margo's location isn't black and white so I know that I won't have the correct prediction. Whenever Q discovers something new I always find my prediction changing. This allusion is a great part of Paper Towns; it makes the story more interesting and intense. If you love mystery books, read Paper Towns.

A picture of Walt Whitman, the author of "Song of Myself"

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/walt-whitman

Predictions for Paper Towns

Margo and Q's adventure of plotting revenge has just ended. And now the two of them have to return to their average lives. However, based on how Margo put an M where ever they went for revenge and how her messages involved her name, I can predict that her life will change extravagantly. First off, her friends will probably kick her out of their group. Secondly, I'm guessing the principal will get involved in this major situation. I also am predicting that if the school gets involved then her parents will get involved. As you can imagine, that will end in a disaster. Despite all of the trouble Margo will go through she will still choose to act rebellious and Q will probably be by her side. I also think that Margo will not reveal that Q was helping her; but I think that he will get caught some how. I think that if Q gets caught he will not be able to hang out with Margo. Of corse that will never happen.

Q believes Margo needs some one to be there for her.At the end of the adventure Q tells Margo, "Just hang out with me. My friends are actually, like, nice." Margo responds, "I'm afraid it's not possible."(Green 81)I have two predictions for why Margo made that claim. My first prediction is because she still fears on losing her popularity. Despite the fact that she will probably lose her friends; she probably still hopes to keep her status in the school. She also might be afraid of being around people who are different than her or people she's not used to. She also might have planted revenge on all of those people before since she seems to think very low on them so there will be no change since there was no change before hand.  She might not trust anyone. My second prediction to why they can't hang out is because she doesn't want Q to be caught for helping her. If you think about it, people probably know that her and Q were friends a long time ago and that there neighbors, she then has easy access to him for his assistance. If she's caught hanging out with them they might believe Q knows about everything and was her right hand man during her night of revenge. However, I believe that towards the end of the book she won't care what everyone thinks and will hang out with him. I also think that Q and Margo will date. As you read the book you can feel some chemistry between them. For example, they dance to a jazz song in Sea World. They seem to become obsessed with that song as if it's "their song".

I think Q was chosen to be Margo's aide in this adventure because she can trust him. As children they had an incident where they found a dead man.She probably feels a connection between them with that moment. Q also has a crush on Margo and he won't tell on her if he has feelings for her. In that case, Margo probably knows about his feelings towards her. Also Q doesn't associate with her friends so he won't tell them everything. Q is a goody two shoes so he is the least expected person to get involved with everything illegal Margo did. Even though Q is not expected to get in trouble with the law I think evidence will point towards him. That's how books like this one always end up.

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/

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.

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

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

Princess A True Story of Life Behind the Veil of Saudi Arabia- Text to Society

In my memoir Princess A True Story of Life Behind the Veil of Saudi Arabia I have realized how the story shows a lot of the difficulty in standing up for a belief. As many of you know, women have very little rights in Saudi Arabia and are always controlled by men. The main character, Sultana believes that women's laws in Saudi Arabia must be changed. However with men controlling her life she feels like she can sometimes not share her belief, for she can be greatly punished. For example, when Sultana is a young girl her brother steals her apple. Sultana was not happy about her brothers decision so she takes the apple from him. Ali, her brother, is very upset and tells on her. While her father hears the story, a brave Sultana tells him that Ali stole it from her so she took it back. Her father did not think that was a good excuse so she was punished. On page 26 in my book it quotes, "As punishment, Ali was given all of my toys. To teach me that men were my masters, my father decreed that Ali would have the exclusive right to fill my plates at mealtimes." This shows how standing up for her beliefs led to a bad ending which shows how it can be a challenge to stand up for what we believe is right.

I will give you a summary of my book. Sultana is a princess of Saudi Arabia's royal family. Now, you would think that she would have a lot of freedom in her country. Well, you thought wrong. For this princess her life is controlled by her father, brother, and husband. She has to cover her face and body with thick fabric. There fathers also pick the daughters husbands even if they are twice the women's age. Through out my book Sultana questions why her country doesn't allow equal rights. However she sometimes feels like she can't stand up for her beliefs because she could get punished. Even though Sultana experiences a lot of physical and emotional pain, she still keeps her beliefs and will share them when she feels like it's necessary.

This story can relate a lot with society. Recently at the University of California in Berkeley, Bill Maher was invited to speak. However, Muslims at the school are not fans of his anti-Muslim comments. They also believe he is one of the reasons Muslims are always judged and assumed to be terrorists. So, some students started a petition to not let Maher speak at their university. This can show how standing up for beliefs can be hard. As you can imagine, many people of the university are fans of him and are interested in what he has to say. These young students stood up for themselves to save them from being judged and going through the pain of being made fun of. You can probably guess that people weren't nice to them which made it a lot more of a struggle. So as you can see, even in America it is hard to stand up for your beliefs.

Here is my news article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/03/muslim-students-bill-maher_n_6093598.html?ir=Religion