Soloist 3

I have now completed this book which amazes me. I now see how someone can have so much passion in music. I go to G.A.M.P. and play music myself but this guy(Nethaniel) has taken music down to what is the lowest point in his life. This means a lot to Nethaniel and i can see why anyone would want to help him further this talent and give him a second chance. Steve Lopez is a very nice, compassionate, and sympathetic man. It's ironic how Steve makes news stories and basically went out and found a very interesting man into a news story and helped him out to further not only Nethaniel's carreer but his own too. In the end, Steve is a very nice person inside, and Nethaniel is very lucky to have met him.

soloist 2

So far through this book i have pondered upon many questions. One being why has Steve Lopez made himself a big part of Nethaniel's life? Another is What is the main cause of Nethaniel's mental issue,(Schizophrenia)? How Much compassion and sympathy can one have for another to give him a private garage full of instruments for Nethaniel to use anytime? This book is very compassionate and has a lot of care put into it. Steve Lopez must see something i dont see in Nethaniel because i find it strange that he is so compassionate about another. Don't get me wrong playing Beethoven with half the amount of strings on a violin is insane though.

Gatsby Response

The Great Gatsby was a very good book. Fitzgerald is a very good writer and has much talent in writing and is incredibly intelligent. He knows exactly how to put his thoughts and feelings into words. This book had an incredible ending and had me reading every night. Sometimes i found myself reading too much and wasn't able to put the book down. I am very glad Fiorini choose this book for us to read. I would certainly read other books that fitzgerald has wrote. He has a very unique way of writing and it is very interesting.

I think Nick wasn't to happy with his job. he felt as though he was forced to work at his family job that was passed down from generation to generation. He wanted the life style of the rich. He was jealous but also envied Tom, and Gatsby. He was always trying to fit into the rich lifestyle and wanted Tom and his other rich friends to think he was living a rich life style. Nick was just trying to fit in and didn't like his actual life style at all.

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye was a very interesting unique book. The style the author used was a bit confusing. This book seemed to be narrated by the main character Houlden. Houlden would steer away from things he was explaining to relate them to something else similar to what he was explaining or talking about.

Houlden seems to be a man caught in his fantasies and dreams because of how he expresses things in his book. He didn't like reality to much and it shows the way he dropped out of four schools. Houlden was a bit self-centered the way he only cared for his needs and him self and didn't very much care about what other people felt or thought towards him. Houlden did try to turn his life around by setting up goals for himself in regards to the future. This shows he wasn't fully in fantasy island and day dream universe.

Death of a salesman

This play was very strange to me in the way the characters behaved. For example, Willy Loman had to have a mental disorder. He would act out old memories as if they were a dream but only he could see the other people in his crazy fantasies. He was always talking to himself and other people he knew regardless if they were around. Willy seemed to be a very sad and stressed man but he tried his best not to show it. He always had a smile on but had this tubing that he used to inhale gas fumes as a way of suicide. I dont understand why the wife or sons didnt take the tubing away. Willy was pretty much stressed out because he was loosing his job and his sons/son werent very succesful after highschool. The Loman Family had many problems and caused alot of arguments and yelling as a way to relieve anger. This act was very interesting to watch and showed alot of emotions in a regular family. The sad part is Willy died at the end but i think that helped his sons understand their dads pain and maybe they would turn their lives around.

soloist

The Author of the soloist makes this story very dramatic. He makes the story dramatic by not using much description on important parts. He shortens important sentences and ends paragraphs fast too. This makes the reader anxious to know whats fully going on. This book seems to exaggerate about things sometimes. This style is a very persuasive way to make readers want to keep reading and find out more. This book also seems to have a narrative style to it. Probably because the author is a writer for the L.A. Times.

Blogging opinion

This year my class used blogger to do assignments. Blogs in my opinion are very useful and help me stay organized. Blogger.com is a good way if not the best way to organize assignments and respond to posts. Everything is at your finger tips and its easy to navigate around. Mr Fiorini chose a very easy, useful, organized way for students to work with. Basically, our whole work scheme is based on blogger. We post assignments on blogger, we comment and criticize each others work, and find an easy way to stay on top of your work and be organized.

Gatsby Journal

Chapter 1
Nick was born in the midwest. His generations of family have owned and still own a hard ware store. Nick attended New Haven college in Yale University and fought in World War 1. He then went to the East New York to become wealthy and become a bonds salesman. He lived in the poor West Egg, next to Gatsby's fabulous mansion. Nick then talks to his cousin twice removed Daisey Buchannan and decides to pay her a visit. He meets her and her husband Tom who is very strong. he also meets a pro golfer Jordan Baker.

Chapter 2
Tom and Nick are taking the train to tom's mistress. The mistress, Ms Wilson is also married. Nick met Ms. Wilson's sister and a party soon begins. After much drinking the woman talk of their love interest and How Ms. Wilson cannot stand her husband. Tom then breaks Ms Wilson's nose because she talks about his wife.

Chapter 3
Gatsby invites Nick to is party. Gatsby is living the rich life. The whole chapter is about the party and many people get drunk and gossip. Gatsby seems lonely or sad. Something is definently bothering Gatsby.

Short Journal on Kate Chopin

In class we have been reading american realism poets. I have been reading two poems by Kate Chopin. The first is called "lilacs" and the second is called "a pair of silk stockings". In the poem Lilacs, a nun is trying to experience both the nun life and the party girl life. Knowing she can't do both she tries any way. She is caught by the nun leader and gets banned from the church and from being a nun. In the poem " a pair of silk stockings", a lady has fifteen dollars she plans to spend on her kids and herself wisely in order to survive properly. While out shopping she spends the money on herself instead even though she knew the consequences and knew it was wrong.

Both of the poems by Kate Chopin have a woman making bad decisions even when they know the consequences and know that what they are doing is bad for them. Regardless in both situations the women do the opposite of the good way they wanna go.

To Television by Robert Pinsky

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-television/
Robert Pinsky's poem called "To Television" is all about T.V. He talks about the influences t.v. gives people and what t.v. is good for. Television is a type of entertainment for people to enjoy while sitting back and relaxing. It has entertaining shows with different types for everyone to enjoy. Robert talks about the wonders of television. He labels it as many things but not a t.v. Robert labels it as "a box, a tube, "Terrarium of dreams and wonders" and some other names. To Robert, t.v. is just a realm of entertainment, nothing more than a box or tube that sits people down, relaxes them, entertains them, and brings people together. To Robert, t.v. is just a box of dreams, a tube of wonders.

does writing have the power to enact social change

I think writing has a lot of power on social change. Peoples thoughts can be put into writing an be expressed very strongly just as if they were talking to you in person. Sometimes it's easier to express your thoughts in writing then saying them aloud. So if you can have express your thoughts deeply in writing, there is a good chance you will get your point across. Like June Jordan's way to enact social change about the war in Iraq was to spread her thoughts about it to everyone who read her poem and get more supporters to help stop the war in Iraq from carrying on any farther.

poem for price of a child

The Price of a child.
The price of raising a child from birth to 18 according to the government is about $160,140 for a middle-income family.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down.
It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.44 a day. Just over a dollar an hour.
Some may think that's money wasted.
But to a mother it can be the greatest gift of all.
To a mother, a child is a gift.
To her, nothing beats getting a gift of life and love.
It's the gift of ultimate love between a mother and her child
A bond that is impossible to break no matter how you try.
Mothers will always remember the times they had with a child.
Remember the memories you've had with your mom.
All the times she stopped your crying when you were hurt.
The times she scared away the monsters in your room.