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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The Fault in Our Stars Pt. 2

The character development in The Fault in Our Stars shows the true bond of love between two young adults and how their medical condition affects the development of their character as the novel goes on. Hazel is the protagonist and narrator of The Fault in Our Stars; a unique and witty 16 year old girl with Stage 4 Thyroid cancer that spread to her lungs. Although lucky to be living thanks to an experimental drug called Phalaxinor, Hazel goes through a roller coaster of frequent health issues due to her diseased lungs. Unlike many people, Hazel approaches the idea of her illness lightly; she cares more about hurting the people around her rather than the tragedy of accepting her own death. Hazel is extremely intelligent, slightly stubborn, and very strong. She begins to accept those around her as the length of her illness comes to the end. Augustus Waters is a seventeen year old boy. He is determined to love Hazel no matter what might happen in the future, who is also very handsome and charming. He has been through a lot in his life, being  the cancer he had caused him to have a leg removed. Augustus isn't afraid to do what he wants because he realizes that someday no one alive at this time will be remembered. He's already had one girlfriend who died from cancer, but knows that his love for Hazel Grace is more important than what might happen. He is very loving and never gives up on Hazel Grace. The two never give up on each other no matter what problems arise which shows the meaning of true love.

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars is narrated from the perspective of Hazel, a 16-year-old girl who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Although she prefers to isolate herself from her peers, her physician recommends that she attends a weekly cancer support group where she meets Augustus Waters, a young boy in who is in remission. Augustus takes an immediate liking to Hazel and their romantic relationship quickly blossoms. Their experiences living with cancer brings them closer as they search for answers to Hazel’s favorite novel. The way he explores what it feels like to be young and dying of terminal cancer is somewhat brutal. Augustus yearns to leave his mark on the world so that he can be remembered after his death while Hazel takes a more simplistic approach to life, trying to take in all that surrounds her, or “notice the universe” as she describes it. These two together make each other feel like they are on top of the world and nothing, not even terminal cancer can tear apart the moments they share with each other now and for the rest of their lives. This novel brings forth the harsh reality of cancer and how it affects people and the loved ones around them. This novel is very emotional and truly shows great understanding and compassion between two young adults who are still trying to figure themselves out as well. Hazel and Augustus have accepted with what has faced them, and they begin to make each other worth living for. The character development that goes on throughout this novel portrays two young adults who are very witty and intelligent, and it shows how they can deal with real life difficulties that other normal teenagers may not have to face in their lifetime.

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Picture of Dorian Gray Pt. 2

Transformation is a major theme expressed in the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. In the beginning of the novel Dorian is a very outgoing and loving person. He shows many qualities of a good friend and the author also reveals his compassion for a woman named Sibyl Vane. Dorian expresses great interest in this woman and reveals a romantic touch to his personality. This suddenly changes throughout the story when he becomes cruel and spiteful among others. Sibyl and Dorian's fling comes to an abrupt ending in fighting. The changes in the picture begin to occur after this event revealing the cruelty and aggression of his nature. With the advice and the complements he has been receiving the fame and handsomeness has gotten to his head. The thought of him being forever handsome with no imperfections began to consume his personality and transform him into the antagonist in the story. This transformation of his character reflects what he says and does from this point on. The greed of living forever young consumed his life and reflected upon how he acted and how he treated others. The author does a great job in this novel in portraying the decay/transformation of his eminent self. This change over time eventually leads to the downfall of his character. Once the influence of the picture takes control of him there is no turning back. His character spirals down and down as the true greed and corruptness reveals itself within the picture. The final moment when Dorian stabs the picture, he in turn kills himself. The irony of the story is displayed at this moment when he realizes that the picture was slowly decaying his own self image.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a very intriguing story that exemplifies many dark and elusive themes tat hint to Dorian's actions throughout the story. The dark themes entail in the scenes and in his self portrait. The decay of the picture reveals the greed and evil behind his actions to be eating him alive but yet his self image stays young and handsome. The author in the novel displays the underlying themes as Dorian does one thing after another to save his own sanity. But in the end his greed to stay young forever ended up tarnishing his reputation and character, thus killing him in the end.  When Dorian finished the painting he kept it locked inside an attic and kept hidden away so  no one would would share in this one of a kind creation. The picture would change daily and this intrigued mister Gray to the point where eventually became to fear this painting. The painting and its constant changes took control of Dorian's personality and turned him into a maniac. His obsession for the picture deepened as the novel goes on towards the point of no return. He did not want anyone to see or know about his painting because it would've brought about much commotion into his life which he did not want. Dorian began to keep to himself and secluded those who cared about him. When one of his friends came by to visit and to see the picture. Dorian reacted spontaneously by killing him and leaving his body to rot in the attic. The Author of this novel focused severely on the self destruction of his character through the method of insanity. The picture of the Dorian Gray stresses on the idea that the pictures destruction led to the physical and emotional destruction of his character .

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Movie

Li Mu Bai wants to teach Jen his ways because he is a very skilled instructor and he sees much potential in her. He respects her greatly with her fighting skills and is very interested in what she could behold and do for him with Li Mu Bai as her real instructor. Instead of Jade Fox just using her for her own personal advantage, he will teach her the ways to do good instead of acts of evil on others. Li Mu Bai is eager to find Jen but she disappears on him when he finds her in the forest. He then catches up to her and surprises her by attack in the cave. Li Mu Bai wants Jen to be part of his generation or dynasty of true destined warriors. He admires her technique and skill and wonders who really taught her all she knew because Jade Fox was her previous mentor but she showed different styles of fighting and levitating that he had never seen before. He was I truies and willing to guide Jen along the path to becoming a supreme figure in the world and to advance in her skills and level of fighting. Jen is aware of the power she has but she will not let anyone get in the cross of what she wants. She does not want to follow the orders of her family not her master Jade Fox any longer. She is a very independent and wise girl. Li Mu Bai just wants to guide her along the right path. But before he can she takes the leap of faith and disappears on Li Mu Bai into the mystical waterfall, leaving her soul free to the earth and keeping her mind body and spirit in tune with nature and it's forces. I admire Jen's actions in this movie because she is showing her own sense of courage and wisdom. She truly shows that she will let nature guide her path in life. No one is gonna tell her how to live or what to do. She has broken from the dependency on others and was focused on her own personal achievements instead of living up to her family's expectations.
The poem "Alone Looking at the Mountain" is a very short poem but it entails deep meaning regarding nature and a man's state of mind. This poem is talking about a man watching birds fly over the sky. The man sits back and watches as the birds come and go. This reveals a deeper theme of loneliness and secluding himself from others. The imagery in this poem as well makes it very unique. This poem describes in detail of the nature and scenery when the author says "We never tire of looking at each other, only the mountain and I." This quote is describing the feeling of the author being in tune with nature. He is secluding him self from all the extra things and life and he just soaks in all the atmosphere and everything around him. He admires the senses around him and he comes into tune with everything around him. This style of writing is defined by Li-Po. His style of writing entails his thoughts between man versus nature. The benign presence in nature brings about a deeper spiritual meaning to life. The extremities and life are all left behind when Li-Po puts himself into the ideas that nature can reveal one's true self. The literal situation of him watching birds in the mountains is the absolute ideal place of silence where one can collect their thoughts and feelings and to release all the negative feelings into the sight of the scenes. 

Monday, January 6, 2014

The Catcher in the Rye

I am reading Catcher in the Rye, the classic novel about a misunderstood teen. It is told in first person by Holden Caulfield. He gives off the impression that he doesn’t care about anything or anyone. In reality, this is just a mask. He has some of the worst luck ever and the only way he knows how to deal with it is to pretend it doesn’t matter to him. In general, he has nothing to look forward to in life. He is failing out of a prestigious prep school and is only the manager of the fencing team, in which he loses all of their gear and infuriates any friends he had on the team. Friends really are not something he has. He tries so hard to give off a cool appearance that he never makes any lasting friendships. In his descriptions of his roommate and neighbor, you can see just how much he resists being friendly with people. He spends more time explaining their filthy grooming habits than explaining real reasons as to why he doesn’t like them. Holden describes Ackley as a pimply loser and his roommate, Stradlater, as a “secret slob”. The teenager only respects people of the opposite sex, like his crush Jane and his sister Phoebe. This shows how much Holden values innocence, a main theme in this book. He doesn’t like the boys from Pencey Prep because they are concerned with mostly just sex and girls. The women mentioned by him are his idea of purity. He likes Jane for simple things like holding hands and playing golf with him. Phoebe hasn’t been corrupted by teenage life yet. The people that bring him back to his childhood and who in his mind will never change or grow up are the people who he values the most.