Coming of Age Book-- The Perks of Being a Wallflower-- Blog Post 2 (spoilers)

            While reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky I learned a very important lesson. This book is about a boy who writes letters to someone, in a way that is almost like a diary. He doesn’t know this personal know the person, but he knows who he is. The boy, who is writing the letters, calls himself “Charlie” but you’re never really sure if this is his real name. While writing these letters he describes many things from, important to not important, and tends to loose track of what he was saying, and end up on a completely different topic. Although he is an outsider, he has managed to make some really great friends. While being with these friends, he learns a lot, and they help him to live his life. See, when Charlie was at a young age, he lost his Aunt Helen, who he was very close to. This loss seems to affect his life greatly and make him who he is. However, at the end of the book you learn something, but your not exactly sure what. Charlie becomes severely depressed, and has to go to the hospital. It turns out this has something to do with his Aunt Helen. Something she did to him, something Charlie never remembered until he got his chance to be with Sam, she molested him. The lesson that I think this book was written to teach is that although you can be coming of age, it is about becoming more mature, or gaining knowledge, or even becoming experienced at things it about finding out who you are, and how different events in your life got you there. Which is exactly what Charlie did by the end of the book.

            Towards the beginning of the book, you find out where the name The perks of being a wallflower comes from. Patrick calls Charlie a wallflower, and everyone agrees. He thing explains that it is when, “you see things. You keep quiet about them. You understand.” (p 37). This goes along with the message of the book that coming of age is about learning who you are, and how you get there. This is because Patrick is saying, although he doesn’t mean it in a bad way, that Charlie is never there. He is the person you want him to be, the friend you could use, not even the friend you need, but the one who’s there. He will do anything to help you, but in the end its not helping anybody. Basically, if Charlie is always just the person people want him to be (the wallflower) then he will never find himself, and learn who he really is.

            This message of Charlie just being on the outside, and not doing what he wants to do continues throughout the whole book. Another way this is seen, is that Charlie’s English teacher Bill, is always telling him he has to participate. Charlie and Bill develop a very close relationship, because Bill is one of the few people in the world who realize how amazing, and special Charlie really is. Bill tells Charlie that he has to “participate” multiple times in the book, and Charlie keeps going back to this. Saying how he tried to participate by going to the school dance, and he participated by going to the party with Sam and Patrick, and so on, but he learns later that he was never really participating he was just there.

            Charlie learns this when at the very end of the book he is talking to Sam. She is basically just straight up telling him all of these things. She says:

“It’s great that you can listen and be a shoulder to someone, but what about when somebody doesn't need a shoulder? What if they need arms or something like that? You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. You just can't. You have to do things…. Like take their hands when the slow song comes up for a change. Or be the one who asks someone for a date. Or tell people what you need. Or what you want… It’s like you can come to Patrick’s rescue and hurt two guys that are trying to hurt him, but what about when Patrick’s hurting himself? Like when you guys when to that park? Or when he was kissing you? Did you want him to kiss you?’

                        I shook my head no

                        ‘So why did you let him?’

                        ‘I was just trying to be a friend,’ I said.

‘But you weren’t Charlie. At those times, you weren’t being a his friend at all. Because you weren’t being honest with him… I’m going to be who I really am. And I’m going to figure out what that is. But right now I’m here with you. And I want to know where you are, what you need, and what you want to do.” (200-202)

This conversation between Sam and Charlie basically sums up the whole message of the book. To grow up you have to find out who you are, and to do that you have to do things. You can’t just be a wallflower, sure that okay sometimes, but you have to really participate. Not just hang out with friends, but ask them to hang out, and do what you want to do, because you want to. 

Coming of Age Book-- The Perks of Being a Wallflower --Blog Post 1

While reading the coming of age novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, I’ve been paying close attention to how Chbosky narrates the character, and describes youth through him. This book is about a boy in high school, learning out to adapt and fit in, although at my current half waypoint, he seems to be a clear outsider. The boy “Charlie” (it is never clear if that is his real name) tells the story by writing letters to someone. He doesn’t know this person personally, and so far we don’t even know their name. Charlie doesn’t leave anything out, and describes his life in full detail, talking about whatever is on his mind. From the way he writes, to the way he acts in the stories he writes in the letters, it is clear that he is very different from everyone else. Although, shortly after starting high school, he does meet a close group of friends. While he does spend a fair amount of time writing about recent stories, he also puts some time writing about stories he remembers from his child hood, and just about important people that stand out to him in general. While reading it is clear to see, that Charlie just doesn’t seem to know when, its okay to do what, and seems to be very immature and ignorant (although he is very smart) for his age. However throughout the book he is gaining more and more knowledge on the ways to act in order to survive high school, and come of age.

            Charlie is a very emotional character that is not afraid to show it. He seems to have trouble knowing what is okay to see and do, and what is not okay to say and do, although he seems to be gaining knowledge on this subject. Charlie mentions two people who he was very close with that died. One of them being one of his closest friends from middle school Michael, that committed suicide (while in middle school, when they were close), and the other being his Aunt Helen, who he describes almost like a second mom to him, although willing to be more like a friend then a mom, who died in a car crash. Both of these people didn’t have very good lives. Michael was also an outsider, and people bullied and made fun of him a lot. Charlie was one of his few friends, so he had little support. Aunt Helen was raped as a little girl, and was also not supported, or helped. He talks about these people throughout the book, and is constantly explaining how these people made him feel. Because he does have problems knowing what is okay to do and say, he expresses the hurt he has from losing these people in strange ways. For example, he says that after his Aunt Helen died, his parents would find him passed out in strange places (98-100). As you can see the loss of these two people to whom he was very close with, had a very hard effect on Charlie. Some may think that these things might cause him to come of age. I think if anything these terrible losses seemed to slow down his coming of age, and cause him to act a lower maturity level.

            While Charlie’s maturity level seems to be very low, from the beginning of the book, to my current half way position, it is clear that he is really becoming his own. Although he still has some trouble knowing what to do and say when, Charlie has clearly gained knowledge on this subject, and seems to be growing up. He has met friends who are older, which probably help with this process, but also seems to be just an overall happier person. He has started to get over his losses, and I think this has allowed him to grow and expand. Although he seems to be far behind in his maturity level, not because he choices to be, but mostly just because he can be very ignorant, he is definitely catching up.

Chbosky has Charlie realize throughout the book a message; to enjoy and make the most of your youth. It is clear that although many characters that are in the book have had hard lives growing up, Charlie’s is pretty good. As he begins to realize that, he is learning to make the most of his child hood because it is short, and some people don’t even get a real one. This message is portrayed throughout all the parts of the book I have read so far. It seems that the author is almost saying that sometimes being a little less mature, and a little more ignorant can even work to your advantage. Even with these flaws, Charlie seems to be enjoying his high school life, and they may have even lead him to friends, people and experiences that will cause him to grow up in the right way at the right time. 

Article Response--- The Hunger Games

            While reading the article “The Hunger Games” by Peter Travers, I noticed how the author spends a great deal of the article relating the movie The Hunger Games, which the article is a review of, to many other movies, specifically the movies from the Twilight series. I think the comparison of these two movies really helps Travers to get his point across about this movie. I think it helps him to get his point across because both these movies have a lot in common. They were based of books, and the directors had to figure out where to make changes so as to keep the movie appropriate while balancing both the romantic and violence from the books.

            Both The Hunger Games and Twilight were originally books, that were turned into movies. This is not the only similarity they share. They are both about strong willed girls, who end up in a scary, violent situation, where they are put between to guys, both who they care a lot about. In the article, Travers mentions this, and noticed how although in the book The Hunger Games there is more of a focus on the love aspect, it as not as intense and as important to the situation as in both the book and in the movie Twilight. Travers mentions this when he says, “Are you Team Gale or Team Peeta? You might not care as much, since neither has the exotic allure of a vampire or a wolf.” While saying this, he is shortly saying that although there is romantic competition, it doesn’t not bring you in, like it does in Twilight between the wolf and vampire. He goes on the mention that he thinks this is one of the reasons that viewers and critics have rated The Hunger Games as the better movie.

            In the article, it is mentioned that although the movie is great, it is hard to compare it to the book because of the restrictions that were put on the movie. Since The Hunger Games is a young adult book, it would do extremely poorly in the box offices if it were rated anything worse than PG 13. Because of this, much of the violence that was included in the movie had to be toned down, to keep it appropriate. Although this is not one of the comparisons Travers makes in the article, his past comparisons make you think further. While making Twilight, I’m sure the directors were faced with very similar circumstances as The Hunger Games. Although, like earlier stated there restrictions were more romantically sided, as oppose to The Hunger Games, which had to be more careful with violence.

            Overall I think the article was very well written, and Travers did an excellent job writing it. One thing he did that improved the article was the comparison to the Twilight books, and movies. This made you look at the movie in a different way and really made you think about some of the challenges that went in to making this movie, or any movie based on a book for that mater. Considerations that take place go way further that just restrictions of violence. It also makes me wonder, if there were no restrictions, and it could be exactly like the book, would it be better or worse?


Article: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-hunger-games-20120321

Plagiarizing Questions

·      What did the student do wrong? What could he/ she have done to include the source correctly?

The student plagiarized from someone else’s work, and stole their words. They didn’t quote it, they just took it, and they didn’t cite their sources. Instead of just plagiarizing, the student could have paraphrased the quote into their own words. They could have also taken parts of the quote, and cited it as the quote, not taking credit as it being their own writing.

·      Write a sentence using the original source correctly; use a quotation or paraphrase. Also, make sure to cite correctly. Consult my post on citing sources.

The painting Starry Night the background that contains many hills that go up and down, behind that there is a small little village, that gives of a calm vibe. I started thinking about how the town gave off that after reading the article “A Brief Understanding the Starry Night Paintings.” In the article, the author states: “There is a peaceful essence flowing from the structures.”

·      What are at least three ways to avoid plagiarizing?

1.     Quote directly

2.     Paraphrase

3.     Cite sources correctly

Blog Entry on Student Reading Responses

            I read both Gabby’s and Eliza’s blog posts. While reading Gabby’s blog post on Glass I noticed a lot of really great features of her blog, which really made in stand out. One feature I noticed in her blog was that she did a really great job providing examples, and when using examples she cited them clearly, and correctly. The text examples and quotes she used really helped her to prove her point and make the reader understand. Another great feature of her blog was that not only did she give you examples to support her thesis; she also did a really good job describing those examples, and explaining why they happened. She also included the lessons, and themes from the book, and gave some opinion on what she thought was happening without overdoing it.

            Eliza’s blog post on Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire was also extremely well written, and full of amazing features that made it complete. She had a very elaborate idea and thesis, which she supported well. Her post was way more than just a summary although she did provide enough background for it to make sense. She compared and contrasted many different ideas, further than her opinion. She provides important life lessons, not just from the clear focus of the book, but what she found analyzing the book, and really digging deeper into the themes, and reading between the lines. Another great thing that she does in this blog is that it doesn’t feel like an essay. Although it has everything that an essay should have, she writes it in an entertaining way. You almost feel like someone is saying this while talking to you.

            After reading these blogs I found a lot of really good elements that were included in them, that could help me to improve my blogs. One example of something that I saw in these blogs, that I think I could use in my blogs to improve them is using specific text examples and quotes. This is something I don’t usually put in my blogs, but Gabby’s blog was a good example of how they can really help to support your blog. Another thing that I saw in these blogs that could help my future blogs is providing lessons from the book. Whether they’re clear lessons that you can get from pretty much just reading the back cover, like Gabby’s, or more elaborate lessons, that you really have to dig for, and read between the lines to find, like Eliza’s. Those were just two examples of elements that I saw in these two blogs that I think can improve my blogs. Overall the two blogs I read were very well written, and provided me with ideas, and ways that can possibly help me to write better blogs in the future. 

Deadly Little Lies

I stare at you, long to hold you near,

But you look away, ignore me,

Then I follow your lead, and look in other directions,

And suddenly go back to the past, and look at me once I again,

Except I am gone,

Can I ever let myself come back?

            This poem basically sums up the relationship between Ben and Camelia in the book Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Stolarz. This book is a sequel to the book Deadly Little Secrets, and has a very similar plot. It is about a girl who is basically being stalked by someone, and receiving death threats, and she is trying to figure out who. While this is happening she is also figuring out that she’s a little by physic. She is a sculptor, and recently she has been sculpting random things like a pomegranate, or a horse, and then seeing them somewhere later. She is also hearing voices in her head, then actually hearing them later.

            While this is all going on she is madly in love with this guy Ben. Ben loves her back, but is scared to be with her, because he doesn’t want to hurt her, and he sort of accidentally killed his ex-girlfriend. Since Ben refuses to be with her, she starts to like this guy she works with, Adam. The only problem she sees though is that Adam isn’t Ben. Although, it turns out later that Adam Was Ben’s ex-girlfriends boyfriend before she died, and he came back two years after she died to get back at Ben by taking Camelia from him, although he actually starts to like her, even though she’s in love with Ben.

            So anyways, this poem relates to their relationship because Camelia is madly in love with Ben, which the poem represents by looking, but Ben refuses to acknowledge her, and like the poem, even refuses to look at her, so she gives up and moves to Adam, but then Ben realizes that he can, and wants to be with her, but she really likes Adam, and after everything she doesn’t know if she can even let herself be with Ben, especially cause she realized that he really can hurt her. Anyways eventually she realizes Adam was a jerk for what he did, and even 

Much to do About Nothing

                        Dear Friend,

            I really encourage you to go see the Shakespeare play Much to do About Nothing. It is highly entertaining and humorous, especially at the theater we saw it at. This play is about a girl and a guy who are in love, but all they do is pick on each other. They must be tricked into realizing their love. Along with this, the girl’s cousin falls in love with a guy. The guys friend’s evil brother tries to break them up, so she fakes a death, and then comes back to life, and they marry. This is one of the few Shakespeare plays were no one actually dies or gets hurt. This was a nice change from the normal moody, gloomy stuff that is usually incorporated in his plays.

           When I was watching the play I was amazed at how un confusing and clear a Shakespeare play could actually be. Of course the workshop I took before were I learned the plot of the story helped, but the main thing that really allowed me to understand this play was the acting. The actors, The actors did a great job of portraying their characters, and while watching it was almost always clear what was happening and going on, something that continuous to confuse me in Romeo and Juliet.

           

            I have to say if given the choice, I would rather read this, than Romeo and Juliet. This is because this play happens to be more entertaining and humorous. However Romeo and Juliet supposedly have all this hummer in it, but just reading it, it is very hard to find. Maybe if I were to watch a play of Romeo and Juliet I would think differently because the acting would help me to better understand it.

            In conclusion I highly recommend you go see this. It is very entertaining, amusing, and kept me attached through the whole thing. If given the choice I would definitely go see it, and even read it over Romeo and Juliet. I had an excellent time watching it, and think that the directors and actors were all amazing. The workshop also sincerely helped me to understand what were going on and the plot, even though it was a little confusing, it was still very clear.

                        You should definitely go see this,

                        Sincerely,

                        Becca