Predictions

Yesterday I started the novel Where'd you go Bernadette by Maria Semple. This book is already very different from any other book I have read. The format of the book mixed, the author uses E-Mails and dialogue to convey the story. Because of this format the book is slightly confusing and hard to follow, but I am enjoying it very much. I am on page 30 of the novel and so far not much has happened but I have a lot of ideas of what will come next.

Bernadette is a mother who is very introverted. She is not a people person and she likes to stay within her own home and comforts. Bernadette lives in a what used to be a school. The house is very large, there is huge stained glass windows overlooking a hillside where blackberry plants cascade down the vast hill. She doesn't like to expand outside the box which may be why she chose to live in such a secluded area. With this being said characters are alluding that Bernadette has a back story. I get the feeling that something is not being told to the reader.

 In the E-mail from Soo-Lin-Lee Segal to Audrey Griffin Soo-Lim states "But when I looked her (Bernadette) up nothing appeared" (Semple 19).

 This is the one line that made me believe something else is going on with Bernadette. Soo-Lin googled Bernadette to see what would come up and when nothing did come up she was very surprised. I think that Soo-Lin will try to investigate more about Bernadette's life, Bernadette will then get flustered at this and try to get away because she doesn't wasn't her neighbors or her family to find out what is really going on. Bernadette could possibly be a criminal or maybe even a celebrity. The possibilities are endless as to why nothing came up when Soo-Lin googled her name. Maybe Bernadette is hiding under a false name and that is why she seems to not exist when you google her. I am going to keep reading the novel and make more predictions throughout the book. Why do you think nothing appeared when Soo-Lin googled her name?

If you are interested in purchasing the book you can find it here.

Final Thoughts

I finished reading the novel The Fault in Our Stars and I was kind of let down. Everyone, and I mean everyone was raving about this book. All of my friends loved this book, they said it was the best book they have ever read. I thought it was good just not over-the-top.

The last two lines of the book were the best part. The whole book contained high diction, syntax, and figurative language. The last two lines were both telegraphic sentences. Short and sweet.

Hazel Grace states

"I do,Augustus.
I do."

The way John Green places the lines in the text is very a interesting considering he places them on two separate lines. Instead of placing them next to each other he adds a space. This allows the reader to pause and take a moment to digest the novel. This is also an example of anaphora. The repeated "I do" makes the impact of what hazel was saying greater. I know that I felt a large personal connection to Hazel when she said these words.

I am now going to move into the review portion of this blog. Well, to be honest it was not my favorite. I predicted the ending about a third the way through the novel. I like to be on the edge of my seat in a book. This book was more slow moving than I am used to. On the flip side John Green uses a lot of figurative language throughout the book. He uses similes so the reader can get a better sense of what the author is trying to say. Overall I would give this book 3 stars just because it was so predictable for me.

Character Symbols

I am about a quarter the way through with the book The Fault in Our Stars and I am really enjoying it. I think that there are two main characters. One being Hazel and the other being Augustus. Even though I am still in the beginning portion of the novel I am going to give character symbols to the two main characters. The symbols will be tangible items that relate to the character.

I believe that the best symbol for Hazel is tape. Now I know what you are thinking... Tape? Really? When you think about it. it will make sense. Hazel is strong. She never gives up. She always pushes through the tough time that she may be in. Even when it seems like its the end she still had hope and got through it. Mow this is like tape because tape always stays together. It never crumbles and falls. It is always holding itself together, just like Hazel. Also Hazel never gets pessimistic. She is always looking at the bright side of things. I think that this is inspiring.

I believe the best symbol for Augustus in the part of the novel I am at is candy. I think this is a little more understandable. Augustus is always trying to make Hazel happy. He calls her and makes her laugh and just forget about the cancer for a little while. When Isaac is sad about his girlfriend breaking up with him Augustus is there for him to make him happier. This is like candy because candy makes people happy. It brings a smile to a persons face. Sometimes a smile is all you need.

Allusions

Alongside reasing Les Mis I have started The Fault in our Stars. I wanted an easy read to read while reading Les Mis. I am only on Chapter Two in The Fauly in our Stars and I am enjoying it. the plot is very intriging and I am having a hard time putting the book down. The author John Green uses allusions throughout the text.

"I was standing with my Chuck Taylors on the very edge of the curb, the oxygen tank ball-and-chaining in the cart by my side, and right as my mom pulled up, I felt a hand grab mine." (Green 20)

The allusion that was present in this quote was the use of Chuck Taylors. I researched what these are and they are high toped converse shoes. They are very casual and fit the description of Hazel. I image Hazel as you typical teenage girl, wearing casual clothes and shoes. The only difference is the oxygen tank that she has to carry around. This also makes me think that she has always been the relaxed type never to worried about what people think of her. 

I think that this allusion was placed toward the beginning of the novel because we are still getting introduced to what the characters do, feel, and act. This allows us to get a sense of who she really is and not who we are inferring her to be. I think that John Green wants to show us that you can still be normal even with a disease or condition. 

Column Post

Krista Ramey- Our kids tell the story of why preschool is a must

The article is speaking about how preschool can benefit your child and why you should consider enrolling your child in preschool.

If you would like to read the article you can find it here.

I believe that the best written line in this piece is the "Now think about children who have every advantage stripped away – no books, no dependable adults, no conversation, no music, no art materials, no structure, no emotional warmth." I think that this line pulls at the heart strings because it is saying that the child will have no dependable adults and no emotional warmth if he/she does not go to preschool. This may not be true but it makes me want to enroll a child in preschool so they have those experiences. The diction on this line is pretty casual, no high vocabulary and it is very simple to read. The syntax in this line is one long sentence. The thing that adds variety is the dash that she puts in the middle of the piece to add emphasis and to allow the reader to take a pause before continuing. It also introduces us to the list of things that children who do not attend preschool will be missing out on.

I believe that Ramsey's writing style is very relaxed and easy to read. It is very simplistic. This may be because the sentences are very long and flowing. An example of this from three pieces of her work is shown below.

Our kids tell the story of why preschool is a must

"If preschool was optional for your kids, then maybe it's optional for them. But if it was essential for your kids – if you watched it transform their lives and wouldn't have done without it – how can it be denied to children with so few resources, children who need it so desperately?"

This quote is very easy to read and understand. She uses long sentences to make the passage easier to follow.

For better vision, kids need time outdoors

"Whatever the factors behind the finding – perhaps the benefits of sunlight versus indoor lighting, the influence of vitamin D, the visual benefit of viewing objects at a distance outdoors, a reduction in visual stress – it’s left Zadnik, associate dean of Ohio State University’s College of Optometry, believing “there’s something magical about the out-of-doors.”

This is all one large sentence making the cohesive effect.

Super bowl QB's score more points for great style

"Throw-back as it seems, some of us find it oddly reassuring when other people put some thought into what they wear to a special event. A pretty dress, well-tailored sports coat, stylish hat elevate the mood and maybe even the conduct. A 16-year-old with a tie isn’t really a 16-year-old anymore. An elderly woman with sparkly earrings and a pretty sweater becomes more fully herself."

Because the author uses low vocabulary it makes the piece very easy to understand conveying the relaxed style.
 
Questions I would like to Ask Krista Ramsey

1. What made you want to write in this format of wring versus novels.
2. Do you use real life experience to come up with your ideas or do you use topics that are current in society.
3. How do you know how much factual information to put in along  versus opinion based information?

Description

In the novel Les Mis the setting so far is the castle. The author spends pages describing the beautiful castle but I am only going to choose a small portion to focus on.

"The fireplace, its wooden surround painted to resemble marble, was normally without a fire; it contained instead two ornamental fire-dogs, a form of episcopal; luxury, embellished with flower vases and foliations that had once been silver-gilt; and above the mantelpiece, where ordinarily against a square of threadbare black velvet in a wooden frame that had lost its gliding."(Hugo 37)

This quote may seem intimidating for obvious reasons but when you break it down you can see all of the beautiful description used in this sentence. I am going to go part by part and give pictures for each line so people can visualize what is being told in the passage.

"The fireplace, its wooden surround painted to resemble marble, was normally without a fire;"

This would be what the interior part of the fireplace could look like

"it contained instead two ornamental fire-dogs, a form of episcopal; luxury,"

This is what a "fire-dog" is referring to

"embellished with flower vases and foliations that had once been silver-gilt;"

This is a silver gilt flower vase from the proper time period

"and above the mantelpiece, where ordinarily against a square of threadbare black velvet in a wooden frame that had lost its gliding."

This is what the frame may have looked like

Overall the author uses a lot of description but it is easily understood and visualized with some work. This allows the reader to get a better understanding of what the author is trying to get across. The book was written in the 1800's making some of the terminology used throughout the novel hard to understand. The method of going through and getting visuals for the confusing parts in the novel is really helping me get a full grasp of what is happening in the novel.

Vocabulary in Les Miserables

I have recently taken up the task of reading Les Mis. Now this is a large book and it is a complex novel to read. The book has a high vocabulary level in some of the parts. The diction in the novel allows me to expand my vocabulary.

Scanty:
"He arrived one day at Senez, a former episcopal city, riding a donkey, his means at the moment being so scanty that he could afford no other conveyance." (Hugo 26)

Prediction- Small

Definition- small or insufficient in quantity or amount.

Now that I have an understanding of what the word means I am able to better understand the meaning of the quote. The person in the quote had no money or a very little amount so he could only afford to travel by donkey.

Wholly:
"He was good-looking although of small stature, elegant, graceful and entertaining; his early life was wholly devoted to worldly matters and affairs of gallantry."

Prediction- Only or one thing

Definition- Entirely; Fully

The sentence now makes a lot more sense. He is very elegant because he was fully devoted to affairs of gallantry as a child.

Something else that I found very interesting about this word is that it was very popular in the 1800's when this book was written but throughout the years the use of this word has gone down. The link is to a chart of the usage of wholly. Graph of word usage

I have found that when you take the time to look up the definition of a word it can really enhance the novel.