Someone to look up to...Persepolis Post

The book "Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi is the deepest graphic novel I've ever read. I thought it was going to be really hard to read, because the cover made it look complicated, but it was an easy read. It documents "Marjy"'s growing up in Iran and Austria. I would think it was her mom who helped her grow up, but I was wrong. There was another character critical in her coming of age process.

This character is her grandma. Her grandma lets slip all these secrets of adulthood that help her become the lady she is. She tells about her life as a younger women. She told Marjy "the first marriage is practice for the second" which is what I think Marjy shaped her life over. Second chances are what got her through all the troubles.

Theres a part of the book where they have to run up to Marjy's apartment to poor all of her dad's illegal alcohol down the toilet. Her grandma reveals how she used to have to do this for her husband. I think Marjy aspired to be her grandmother when she grew up, because she did a bunch of rebellious stuff in her adolescence.

Although Marjy has a mother, I think her grandma is the supporting women figure in her life. She shares secrets with her like a best friend, learns stuff from her, and basically treats her like an idol. She shows how she loves her a lot. Her grandma is protective but educating, and Marjy almost worships her with respect and love.

How do greasers come of age?: The Outsiders *SPOILER ALERT*

In the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy Curtis starts off as the average young "greaser." The greasers are the poorer teenagers in their town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The rich kids in town are the Socs. The greasers where their hair greased back, and act tough, while the Socs ride around in Mustangs in larger groups starting fights with the greasers.

In the beginning of the story, I can't say that Ponyboy was comfortable as himself, but I can't say that he was incredibly uncomfortable. He's the youngest of three brothers. The middle brother, Sodapop works at the gas station. He's 16 and a high school drop out. The oldest brother, Darry, is too old to go to school, so he works. Darry is a very tough, but strict father figure, seeing as that the Curtis parents die before the book happens. Sodapop is the handsome one, but can fight to. This is what makes me think that Ponyboy was a little comfortable, because he knew he was somewhat safe among his brothers, but at the same time he wasn't always under the protection of his brothers so it gave more room for attack from the Socs.

Although Ponyboy is slightly comfy with his situation, he doesn't like the fighting between the Socs and the Greasers. He claims he is a Greaser, but doesn't like to fight, which is revealed when he attempts to walk a Soc girl, Cherry, home. Although attempting to show a hard exterior, he obviously has a soft inner self. He reads poetry, and thinks about the sunset. How many tough hoodlums do you know that fantasize about the sunset? Not many, right? He shows that he wants to escape this "beef" between the rich and the poor.

Ponyboy's family is really important to him. Although he doesn't show any interest in his oldest brother Darry, he truly loves him. Everyone know's about his brother Sodapop, because he fills the gas at the gas station. People ask him if Soda's the "handsome one" at the gas station who still looks "school age." Ponyboy looks up to Sodapop a lot, but finds it hard to look up to Darry, because Darry acts as the father, and does a very good job keeping him on track, unlike a brother normally does.

Ponyboy's family and friends are what keep him comfortable, even in such a feuding town. He doesn't like to fight, but is quick to defend himself and his friends.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Failure *spoiler alert*

I just finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and I'm less confused than the last time I read it, when it came out. I focused on Snape, because he turned out to be the "half blood prince." I noticed a bunch of really different stuff I didn't realize before, and the aspects I noticed are the ones that are actually really important to the story.

First of all, I was confused by the fact the Snape was Voldemort's most trusted servant, while at the same time he was a half blood. Voldemort's whole regime is that half blood's and muggle borns should be killed. Voldemort's father happened to be a muggle, as was Snape's father. I think this might be the only reason Snape is almost considered a friend of Lord Voldemort, who has no friends.

Another thing I noticed, after reading the book after this one, is that Snape's rudeness towards Harry was planned. Dumbledore ordered Snape to protect Harry, but not make it too obvious. Snape has to be Harry's greatest enemy other than Voldemort. This is because of a grudge he had against Harry's dad. The twist in this was that Snape was in love with Harry's mom, so he feels he needs to protect him.

The last thing I noticed after reading this book again, is that Snape brushes things that hurt him away. For example, I know he loved Dumbledore a lot. Dumbledore saved him, and cared for him. So when he killed Dumbledore, he did it really quickly. No suspense. It was planned, but he couldn't bare to see a good friend dying at his own wand. So he did it as quick as possible. He wanted to make sure there weren't a lot of memories.

The Half Blood Prince's Secrets *SPOILER ALERT*

I just read "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling, for the first time in what seems like years. As a "young adult reader", I'm starting to notice a trillion new factors in the book that I didn't notice before. When I first read it, I read it to get it done with. The second time I read it, I read it to understand it. And then the 37 other times I read it, I read it because I wanted to. Which brings me back to this reading. I read it to catch up, so I could be completely ready for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2, which comes to theaters this July.

Firstly, I'd like to say that this is the first time I'm noticing actual scenes. Theres a scene where Snape shows Harry all the memories he has involving Harry's mother. Harry's looking them after Snape dies, and sees all these moments that Snape had with his mother, where he was either teaching her, or she was mad at her. And it's funny because until this reading of the book, I didn't notice how much in love Snape was with Lily. This is what made me realize, Snape spent all his time with Lily telling her really cool facts about the wizarding world, so that she would hang out with him longer. In the real world this is true to. In other books and movies, when a guy falls for a girl he tries to teach her something, like roller blading or sailing, or something corny like that.

Another thing I noticed was that Harry inherited his fathers hate of Snape, even though his father didn't really live long enough to hear Harry talk. On Harry's first day at Hogwarts in "Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone", we can see that without even knowing Professor Snape, he doesn't like him. He sees him at the staff table in the dining hall and already hates him, after one glance, and no conversation. The hate escalates with Harry's first potions lesson, where Snape humiliates Harry in front of the class.

The third thing I noticed was that Snape had a reason to be mean to Harry. First of all, Harry resembles his dad so much, and his dad happened to be a really big bully to Snape. Snape was in love with Lilly Potter, and having her marry his greatest enemy almost killed him. And the worst part is, he has to teach his kid. And that's not even all of the problem. He also had to protect Harry from a bunch of evil forces a-brewing in Hogwarts, and he must have been pissed off that he had to spend his time protecting the thing he loathed the most.

Fools you know not what you do!: Romeo + Juliet film study

Romeo + Juliet had a lot of really good themes I could write a post about, but this is the one that I noticed the most, even though it isn't as obvious as you think it is. It's not really a theme, more of an idea if you want to state it literally. The idea is that the Capulets and the Montagues are fighting against each other in a one way battle.

The first time I noticed this was in the first scene where the Capulet boys and the Montague boys get into a fight at the gas station. You see them all draw weapons, but if you look closely, the Capulets are the only ones shooting towards another person. Before Benvolio even has a chance to shoot Tybalt, Tybalt shoots his gun out of his hand. One of the other two Montagues hides behind the car, and the remaining Montague cocks his gun, and empties the entire clip on cans of tomato's and on the sign of the gas station, instead of the Capulets.

The second time I really noticed this was when the Montagues crashed the Capulet ball. The funny thing was, they weren't really crashing it, because they disturbed no one. They had multiple opportunities to start a brawl, but kept it peaceful instead. On the other hand, Tybalt tried to confront Romeo, but was stopped by Lord Capulet.

Tybalt killing Mercutio, and the following scene of Romeo getting revenge by slaying Tybalt is, what I feel, the climax of the one way battle, because for once it's changed. Tybalt killed Mercutio in revenge for the Montagues coming to the party uninvited. This honestly didn't have to happen. Romeo made probably the most justified murder in the story, by killing Tybalt in revenge for the murder of his best friend.

In short, the Capulets actually fought while the Montagues gave the illusion that they were fighting, until Tybalt killed Romeo's best friend, in which case Romeo took revenge.

Never Getting to Build the Glass Castle...

To be honest, recently I've been having trouble finding good books. I asked Ms. Robbins to find me a good book. Every time I ask Ms. Robbins for a book, she gets really angry, but she always comes through with the best books. The last one she recommended is The Glass Castle. This book was amazing in multiple ways, and has made it into my top five in the world.

To sum it all up in a paragraph, this book is this lady named Jeanette's memoir, recapping her entire life. The whole twist to the book is that it revolves around her parents, not her. And when I say her parents, I mean her dad Rex. Her entire life revolves around him. He is a complete genius, in every way, except for the fact that he's a lying, cheating, tax evading, alcoholic. He makes promises he cant keep, and when bills pile up, he has his family do the "skiddadle," meaning they run away from the tax collector.

The difference between Jeanette's parents, and most people parents, is that they don't play by the book. They have a complete opposite view of the world, and impose this on their child.

When thinking about this, the first thing that came to my mind was Cuba. I know it sounds like something random to think about when reading a book by an american, non political author, but it makes a lot of sense. Fidel Castro calls Cuba a communist society. The thing with communism is that with the right leaders, it would work out just fine. Cuba is supposed to be a government of the people. The only problem is, Fidel Castro is a dictator, and he rules Cuba like he's a king.

Jeanette and her siblings are Cuba, and her parents, especially her father, are Fidel Castro. He thinks his kids should be wild and free, but at the same time keeps a chain on them. On one hand I feel bad for Jeanette, but on the other I feel bad for Rex. He can't help his addictions, and he can't control his anger.

This is why I think people should stay by the book, because it benefits the whole.

All Star Mentors: The ones that lack but succeed

Molly Dore in Ms. Rear's class post about the book "The Dear One" had it's ups and downs. The only problem I found with it was that it was stuck in one paragraph land. Other than that, it was a great post. She talks about how everyone in life shouldn't be so judgmental. I liked how she said "So what I've learned from experience and even more from the story is give people a chance and don't be judgmental."

Dante Deblasio's post is pretty epic. Once again, in one paragraph land. But other than that, it was amazing. It made me laugh so hard when he talked about how why they shouldn't have published it. I haven't read it, but I guess I'll have to now because of how articulate he was about it.

Casey Gallagher's post really inspired me to look at art. It was perfect in many ways. He had the right amount of paragraph organization, and it was meaningful. It was really well described. Great job Casey

The Third of May

Third of May:By Freedom and Smith(West Harlem Amtrak tunnel)

Guns blast, BANG!

Kneel before them as they overpower

Rifles shouldered as your family dies

If only these people knew your story, how you've already suffered.

Twilight surprise, not so great of a present

Outskirts, debris everywhere.

Organized while you all spread apart, maybe to confuse them?

Not possible.

They're too trained.

You're tattered rags, and desperate pleas, are nothing compared to their orders.

Orders of "Halt" and "Kneel". Identical coats

Background bystanders look on at the massacre.

The Lost World

Derrick Poem (The Lost World)
by Terrance Hayes
I take my $, buy a pair of very bright kicks for the game at the bottom of the hill on Tuesday w / Tone who averages 19.4 points a game, & told me about this spot, & this salesman w / gold ringed fingers fitting a $100 dollar NBA Air Avenger over the white part of me–my sock, my heel & sole, though I tell him Avengers are too flashy & buy blue & white Air Flights w / the dough I was suppose to use to pay the light bill & worse, use the change to buy an Ella Fitzgerald CD at Jerrys, then take them both in a bag past salesmen & pedestrians to the C where there is a girl I'd marry if I was Pablo Neruda & after 3, 4 blocks, I spill out humming "April in Paris" while a lady w / a 12 inch cigar calls the driver a facist cuz he won't let her smoke on the bus & skinny Derrick rolls up in a borrowed Pontiac w / room for me, my kicks & Ella on his way to see The Lost World alone & though I think the title could mean something else, I give him some skin & remember the last time I saw him I was on the B-ball court after dark w / a white girl who'd borrowed my shorts & the only other person out was Derrick throwing a Spalding at the crooked rim no one usually shoots at while I tried not to look his way & thought how we used to talk about black women & desire & how I was betraying him then creeping out after sundown with a girl in my shorts & white skin that slept around me the 5 or 6 weeks before she got tired of late night hoop lessons & hiding out in my crib there at the top of the hill Derrick drove up still talking, not about black girls, but dinosaurs which if I was listening could have been talk about loneliness, but I wasn't, even when he said, "We should go to the movies sometime," & stopped. Observation: I observe from this poem that there are a few themes. The first one I noticed was the poverty. He talks "ghetto" but he almost seems like he longs to be with the upper class people who "smoke 12 inch cigars" on the bus and get to call the driver a fascist. At the end he seems to reach that at the end of the poem. Interpretation: I think the others voice talks from the lower class up to the upper class, and makes it seem almost sophisticated so that he can get his message across. He gives detail, which he thinks make it seem nicer. And it is. He shows us his life with the detail. Extension: I think this poem speaks for a lot of people that long for a better life. People want new friends and new people you know and new clothes and new privileges. I think that's what this poem talked about. I think this is the kind of poetry people should be writing.

It's pretty hard writing about Holden Caulfield when I haven't finished the book *SPOILER ALERT*

Holden Caulfield (from "Catcher in the Rye") is a sophisticated character. I've only known him for about 70 pages, but it's almost been a lifetime to me.There are two things I know about Holden that I would really like to get out.

I think Holden is egotistical, if that's the right word. For example, his hunting hat. He uses his hunting hat to display his feelings, and to be cool. He puts it on forwards and backwards, expressing different security levels. I think this shows Holden likes to make it obvious that he's afraid, but I think he likes to show that he's never afraid, because he mainly keeps it in front, showing security of some sort.

The next thing about Holden, is that he thinks he's above it all, even though he flunks out of everything. What is wrong with him? If you want to be the man, you have to act like the man! He thinks he's above all this education nonsense, so we can cut to the chase. Hate to rain on your parade Senor Caulfield, but everyone else went to school, so so must you!

My conclusion is that I hate Holden Caulfield. I wish I could run away to New York and live in a hotel and be carefree. Oh, wait, I already live in New York, and theres bed bugs in hotels. So honestly, I conclude that Mr. Caulfield is a self absorbed, snobby, moron. (But it's a good book)