Chapters 13-22

I love that Lopez ends chapter 21 with "Home." This makes me think of this clear distinction between a house and a home. You can live wherever you want, and its a residence, but its not necessarily a home though. They say "home is where the heart is". There's a huge difference. I think its amazing that after so long resisting their help, Anthony is finally making some progress. The deal he made with RObinson is a huge sign of progress. It shows that he's willing to really try and better himself. Anthony Ayers may suffer from schizophrenia, but he is most certainly not stupid. He knows that there can be better things for him, if only he would accept the help people offer.

Chapters 7-12

My favorite part of this chunk has got to be when Nathanial and Mr. Lopez go to Disney hall for the rehearsal. That part was entrancing, the imagery that Lopez uses in this part really allows me to "See" whats going on.
"The massive pipe organ looks like a Disney-inspired explosion of sound, with six thousand flutes of Norwegian pine and Douglas fir teetering over the stage. The bowl itself is more intimate than the flamboyant exterior would suggest, and it feels like we're in the belly of a violin or cello, with two thousand seats clinging to the sides of the sound box." (115).
This excerpt is amazing: it really lets me in on their first reaction to entering the hall. The honesty of how it feels, and that it doesn't sound like Lopez is trying to embellish his thoughts with unnecessary additions to the description. I'm really enjoying the book as I go along.

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The Soloist, chapters 1-6

So far, I really like this book!!! It's really captivating -- it just makes me want to read more. First of all, The Soloist is an easy read; the plot progresses neatly, its paced well. Because I have a relative who suffers from schizophrenia, I really appreciate that the disease is being brought into the public eye. Nathanial’s story is amazing to me; so far, my favorite part is when Lopez describes Nathanial’s joy when he gets the new instruments. I find that to be a beautiful image. Nathanial’s paranoia is a very real, very frightening thing. Having experienced someone’s schizophrenic-paranoia first-hand, I understand Lopez’s struggles, and this link to how Lopez feels throughout the book so far really connects me to the story, and just makes me want to read it more. I think it’s rather amazing that someone who was a veritable prodigy, a student at Julliard, would end up on the streets. Its unfair, and yet, it’s also very poetic, in a tragic way. I think someone should help him, I feel for him, throughout the book. He must be so troubled, and reading this makes me feel thankful that Nathanial Ayers found someone as special as Steve Lopez to help him in the only way he knows how: through his writing, and getting the attention of others so that he may get the help he needs.

Death Of A Salesman

The Death Of A Salesman really reminded me of today's economy crisis, and the fact that there are so many Willy Loman's in America today. Many people have been laid off, or are close to losing their job's simply based on the fact that other's don't have money to stimulate the economy by buying things. Willy was in lots of financial issues, and his job wasn't helping him at all. I thought that it was kind of shocking, though, the lengths he went to in order to get his family money. It was kind of scary, because i know that people actually do kill themselves so that their families can live off of their life insurance. That part really was freaky. The parts that i found confusing were when Willy kept having the flashbacks: that was hard to understand, because his reality blurred into his fantasies so smoothly and it made things more difficult to decipher.

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The Catcher In The Rye

We had to read The Catcher in the Rye for school. It’s a novel, though just barely. At first, I was surprised by the informal way the narrator, Holden Caulfield, speaks through the pages. I didn’t really enjoy the way the book was written, even though its considered a “classic” by many. It wasn’t a real book, if there is such a thing. A “Real” book is one with a plot. A story. Some substance. The Catcher in the Rye was nothing but Caulfield’s musings. His thoughts about everything he did, everything he saw, and everything that ever happened to him while he was in New York. I thought that there would be some progression…that we might find out what happens when he gets home and experiences the wrath of his parents when they discovered that he’d been kicked out of yet another school, but no. Nothing ever happened! It was very frustrating.

I'd like to know what you thought about the book...what's your definition of a "real book"? Does The Catcher in the Rye fit into that description??

Spring Break Writing

One thing I really focused on while reading The Death Of A Salesman was all of the dream sequences. I thought they were a little bit confusing, because they switch so inconsistently. I thought it was weird to be in Willy Loman’s head so much, to “see” his delusions as they take place. It was kind of sad to realize that the daydreams with Ben and his recollections of “the woman” were a direct result of his efforts in trying to kill himself. The gas from the hose in the basement was a vivid image that Miller presented to the reader. Willy is constantly talking about how great of a salesman he could have been, and his daydreams of Ben and his riches are always present. Another thing that I thought was really interesting was that in the movie, Ben always comes and goes via a brightly lit doorway. This makes it seem like he’s heavenly, somehow; his occurrence is anything but that, though. Again, it comes back to Willy’s suicide attempt.

I'd like if you could let me know your thoughts on Willy's suicidal tendencies, too. :)

Third Quarter Reflections

This third quarter has been really different for me, as far as the involvement of technology in the classroom goes. I really like that we hardly ever use the textbook: it makes it seem so much more informal, and that makes it easier to enjoy English class, rather than have it be a chore to endure. I like the blogs: it makes it easier to write homework and to submit it. It can be difficult to post, though, if you don’t have a computer. I just recently got a new laptop, but I hadn’t had one for almost the entire third quarter, which really made it nearly impossible for me to post on time, or even to read the assignments. I’m glad I got the new laptop, though, because now I’ll certainly be able to upkeep my blog.
I especially like how we don’t have to write in such a structured format. That was one of the things I used to hate the most about English, what made me dread writing papers, or having any written responses assigned. Being able to write my thoughts out in a conversational tone, to be able to write down my thoughts as I’m thinking them, and not be penalized for the informal tone is amazingly liberating. It makes me actually want to respond, because I get to voice my opinions in a safe place where I won’t be ridiculed or anything. And even better, my friends and peers get to read my writing and they get to respond to it.
One thing that I might want to try to do later in this quarter, though, is that I think it would be better to have one more period of computer time. I like being able to have the time to ask questions as I’m writing the assignment, rather than having to just type up my response, ignoring my uncertainties. I like that we can respond to each others’ writing, but I don’t think responses should really be graded as much. I think a) its probably hard for Mr. F to read EVERYONE’S blog to see who’s commented and who hasn’t, and b) its something that should really be encouraged, not that’s mandatory. I think we should have started off with blogspot.com, instead of GoogleGroups. While GoogleGroups was mediocre, BlogSpot makes everything easier and more organized. I really enjoy this English class, and think other teachers should adapt to making their classes more technologically involved, too. It would make school easier to handle if everything were as organized as this class has become.