Literary Analysis #2

In the novel, That Summer, by Sarah Dessen, a fifteen year old girl named Haven has a lot on her hands and too much to handle. From her parent’s divorce, to her dad’s wedding with Lorna Queen, her sister’s wedding around the corner, along with all of that she is almost six feet tall and still growing. Haven faces many problems but her life takes a turn for the better when she comes face to face with her sister’s old boyfriend and begins to talk to him once again and become friends with him. She starts to realize much about her life and the changes that have been made since he was last in her life. Along with Sumner returning to her life her best friend has gone completely boy crazy in the time period of one summer in 4-H camp where she falls in love with a boy and keeps a long distance relationship with him.

1.       The theme of this story is an old spark can ignite to something big in the future. Sumner was in her past and brought her and everyone around him much joy and happiness and upon his return he does the exact same thing.

2.       I chose this book because it seemed interesting. I had just read a Sarah Dessen book and loved it so decided to read another. Haven’s look on life caught my attention and made me want to keep reading it to see how different things would impact her life.

3.       I indeed found the book realistic because the events that take place in Haven’s life are very much possible and can occur to anyone. I was able to connect to Haven’s older sister Ashley from Haven’s view because we are both short and small and have about the same attitude and personality towards certain things.

4.       The author’s tone is joy, drama, and happiness.

-joy is shown in page 93, “Traveling with Sumner next to me, the mall was like an undiscovered country. He’d always had a way of making even the ordinary seem fun…” –this shows joy because it talks about how one boy was able to make something as ordinary is riding in a golf cart to work in a mall seem like a lot more.

-drama is displayed on page 131, “Now she was at war with her parents, angry at the world in general, and more than a little paranoid.” –Haven’s best friend Casey has gone completely crazy since she has returned from 4-H camp and has changed for the worse rather than the better.

-happiness is shown in page 162, “when my parents were still in love and Sumner held us all together, laughing, until the day Ashley sent him away without even thinking of what would happen once he was gone.” –Sumner always had a way of making her and her family happy and once he left they fell apart.

Characterization

1.       Direct characterization- Haven and Ashley, the author flat out describes them.

Indirect characterization- Gwendolyn and Sumner, you learn more about them the father into the book you get.

2.       No, the author’s syntax stays the same throughout the entire novel.

3.       The protagonist is dynamic and round, the more time she spends with Sumner the more her personality and attitude changes towards certain things and people.

4.       After reading this book I feel like if I have met Haven and Sumner and spent a day with them and gotten to know them along with seeing them change as people.

Enduring Memory

While reading this story I became familiar with the idea of people being able to be change very easily. I came to the realization that although things seem like they can never change and get better or worse, one little thing can completely change that. Nothing is concrete everything can change without you having a say in it. Even though you might be upset about it you must just deal with it and move on with your life along with adjusting to it. I also learned that as easily as people leave your life they can come back and jump back in.

Argumentative Essay: Persepolis

Karen Delgado, #27

11-7-13

Block 3

Argumentative Essay

                In Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, you get an inside look on what it's really like to live/ grow up in Iran. Persepolis follows a young girl named Marji (who is based on the author) throughout her life to give the reader a better understanding of the country. Marji faces many life changing experiences that effect her in many ways. In a letter from CEO, Johan Bennett, we become aware that he has decided to ban the graphic novel Persepolis for its "crass language, graphic violence, sexual content, lewd humor, an instance of suicide, and other images that are not appropriate." Along with the rude idea the CEO has on the book he failed to mention the pros about it such as a better understanding on a foreign country, and more appreciation for our country.

                Although Mr. Bennett did pick up on a lot of what the book is, he paid no attention to the good things like fighting for justice and freedom you deserve. Marji and her parents fight for justice along with many other people. By creating a group that large they were able to gain enough power to over throw the Shah. With being shown a lot of justice being made we also get to see a lot of injustice. for example, in the chapter entitled "the Letter," the maid does not fight for what she wants and ultimately ends up heartbroken.

                Persepolis also shows/ explains to us how violence is never the answer nor is it acceptable. Marjane Satrapi gives us a better understanding of "violence never solves anything," and "violence is never the answer." She does so by demonstrating so much of it. A lot of the violence talked about in Persepolis is graphically shown but to an extent where it helps with the understanding of the story rather than just taking up room on a paper. This proves that Marjane is well aware of the violence but only displays it to an extent.

                Along with many things we've learned from Persepolis we have received a better understanding on a foreign country. While reading this graphic novel you get an inside look on what it's like to live and grown up in Tehran, Iran. While getting an inside look to Marji's life you see many obstacles she faces and how she struggles to overcome them. You get to read about her life and have a graphic understanding of it. Everyone goes through different things even in different countries and although they may seem "simple" and "easy to handle," they can be just as bad.

                Overall, I believe that Persepolis is a magnificent novel. It demonstrates and teaches you many things you normally would not know off the top of your head. While reading it you learn a lot from Marji and her experiences, along with the struggles she faces. Although she is not necessarily the best role model, you do learn a lot from her. Therefore, I disagree with Mr. Johan Bennett's decision to ban the graphic novel, Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi.

Literacture Analysis #1

1. Summary: In The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, Macy faces may obstacles. The story begins when Macy talks about her father passing away. Macy blames herself for this because she believed that if she would've gotten up in the morning to go running with him she could've saved him from the heart attack he had. Now Macy is known as the girl who watched her father die, along with that she is dating the smartest guy in school Jason. He is what everyone would call perfect, so to deal with her father's death she began trying to reach his level and stay focused in school. Right when the summer began she took over Jason's job at the library while he was at Brain Camp. Macy also came across a catering service called Wish Bone and began working for them. Macy's life took an unexpected turn when she met Wes a nowhere near perfect boy with too many problems to talk about. She began falling for him when Jason broke up with her for being "too serious about the relationship so soon into it." Macy then realizes that she never dealt with her father's death.
2. Theme: To overcome obstacles you must face them first.
3.Author's tone: The author wrote the story in a teenage girls perspective which made it easy to relate to.
- "Jason was going to Brain Camp. It had another name, a real name, but that's what everyone called it."
- "Clunk! went my front left wheel, disappearing into it entirely. O-kay, I though, as my entire car tilted to one side, this must be why she called it a doozy."
- "I still thought about Wes a lot. It had been about two weeks now, and we hadn't talked."
4. Five literary elements:
-Flashback: Macy flashbacks to her father's death and explains everything that happened and mentions that she watched her father take his last breath. (PG.6-7)
-Simile: Macy uses a simile when helping Jason pack for Brain Camp. (PG.2)
-Symbol: Wes makes many sculptures and many of them are of a hand with a heart in it. The heart represents his mother who passed away. Macy first comes across a sculpture like that when she is on her way to Delia's house. (PG.89)
-Setting: The settings are Macy's house, The library, and the Beach house. -Genre: The genre is Romance, Macy's love triangle causes it to be a romance novel. (PG.177)

Antigone Compare and Contrast

In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone decides to bury her brother who did not have a proper burial. She believes it is unfair that Eteocles got a burial and Polyneices did not. Antigone decides to go against Creon to bury Polyneices. While searching for help from her sister, she does not receive it. She realizes she is alone but decided to go through with it anyway.
Antigone is very loyal to her family. In the beginning of the prologue she talks to her sister Ismene about the death of her brothers. Antigone mentions the fact that she wants to bury her brother Polyneices the way Eteocles was buried. She shows her loyalty to her family when she says, "... and now you can prove what you are: a true sister, or a traitor to your family" (I.27&28). that was Antigone's way of trying to make Ismene stay loyal to her family. When Ismene offers Antigone support but tells her that she will not help, Antigone becomes upset and mentions that burying Polyneices is what the gods what've wanted, but Ismene doesn't change her decision.In the prologue in line 65 Anitgone tells Ismene that the law of the gods means nothing to Ismene. Because Antigone said that, it showed her loyalty to the gods alone with her family. Antigone and Creon are very different in a way that they have different beliefs and look at things differently. Creon is loyal to the state and know that he cannot respect by saying, "I am aware, of course, that no ruler can expect complete loyalty from his subjects until he has been tested in office" (Parados.19&20). While giving a speech, Creon mentioned that he wanted to gain and earn there respect Creon was not very loyal to his family. The power he received as the ruler, began to get to his head, and he allowed it to. but what goes around comes around, and he lost his family due to the fact that he could not control the power.
Although Antigone and Creon are very different they are also similar in many ways. Antigone is very prideful, this is proven and shown when she says, "think me a fool, if you like; but it may well be that a fool convicts me of folly." (II, 83-84) What Antigone meant was that she would not allow Creon to look at her as a fool. Because Antigone said that, it made her look foolish as well. Antigone also displays her pride when she told Ismene that Creon was not strong enough to stand in her way in the prologue. Antigone is extremely prideful but so is Creon. Creon shows his pride when he says, "this is my command and you can see the wisdom behind it." (I, 47) Creon displays his pride in this quote, because he mentioned that it was his command and that they had to obey it as his subjects. Creon also shows his pride when he mentions the gods. His tone of voice shows that he is not loyal to them and is not concerned with what they think (parados). Creon is extremely proud of the person he is which eventually back fires do to the decisions he made throughout the play. Therefore, Antigone and Creon are similar in the sense that they have too much pride.
Overall, Antigone and Creon both deserve blame for the outcome. Even though Antigone went against the kind Creon's command, she had her reasons to. Creon was very stubborn about the situation and should've gave Polyneices a proper burial. All in all the conflicts between the characters are the result of both their similarities and their differences.

Vocabulary Sentences #6

1. Saturday's band rehearsal is inevitable this weekend.
2. I've had a phobia of clowns since i was 4 and one fell on me.
3. Bats prefer seclusion, but need to hunt for food.
4. The gossip T.V show host rebukes celebrities daily.
5. The Kardashians are notorious for their past.
6. The girls feelings towards different things fluctuate very often, so it's hard to guess what she will do or say next.
7. Candid people are the easiest to talk to and get along with.
8. When people are sophomoric it is hard to take them seriously.

Vocabulary Sentences #5

1. I was plaintive when i found out i had to run the mile in P.E.
2. One of my friends loves to flaunt everything she has to others.
3. I was extremely distraught when my great grandfather passed away in January.
4. When I was waiting in the queue at the super market i bumped into a movie star.
5. After investing my money for three years I made 1,000 dollars.
6. When the classroom gets quiet you can hear the clock ticking relentlessly.
7. I am extremely leery about people who say one thing and do the complete opposite.
8. Some people can be very crass with people they dislike or aren't very fond of for whatever reason.

Vocabulary words and definitions

#1 Debunk (Prove something false) Imminent (about to happen) Affluent (wealthy) Routine(ordinary, normal) Benign (harmless) Enlighten (to teach something new) Malevolent (evil) Inquire (to ask) #2 Perplexing (confusing) Resilient (tough/determined) Amend (to fix/to change) Fickle (indecisive) Benevolent (good) Desist (stop doing something) Listless (tired/lazy) Lackluster (not impressive) #3 Dwindle (to reduce in number or amount) Subtle (not obvious) Gullible (willing to believe anything) Erratic (unpredictable) Condescending (conceited/talking down to someone) Aspire (to seek to become or achieve) Pristine (untouched/in perfect condition) Nettle (to annoy or bother) #4 Hapless (unlucky) Scrutinize (To look closely) Domicile (home) Clarify (to explain more clearly) Asinine (stupid/idiotic) Infer (to figure out without being told) Eloquent (well-spoken) Strife (conflict) #5 Plaintive (Very sad) Flaunt (to show something off) Distraught (emotionally upset) Queue (a line of people or things) Accrue (to gather over time) Relentless (never stopping) Leery (untrusting) Crass (rude/vulgar/having bad manners) #6 Inevitable (going to happen no matter what) Phobia (a strong fear) Seclude (to hide away from others) Rebuke (to criticize publicly)  Notorious (famous for something bad) Fluctuate (to change often)  Candid (honest or sincere)  Sophomoric (immature)

My Autobiography

So I have read a couple of these blogs and it seems like a lot start with the whole “I’ve never blogged before,” thing and since I’ve never done it either I guess I’ll start the same. Hello! I’m Karen, but I’m pretty sure you already knew that. I like to think of myself as very approachable and easy to talk to, and since I’m short in not intimidating at all! One thing you should know about me is that my biggest pet peeve is when people bite metal spoons and forks (it gives me the chills it’s disgusting). I try to be as friendly as I can be since I’ve met a lot of mean people in my life. I don’t understand how they have any friends but hey that’s their problem.
My life before high school really sucked. I had friends and I had fun it was just different I think that’s the right word to use. I got teased a lot for being a “Band geek” but I later came to the realization that there is nothing wrong with being proud of something you love (I wish I knew that 4 years ago). I didn’t do much I spent a lot of time at home watching TV or being a dork and practicing with a practice pad with drum sticks, (/.\) which wasn’t a bad thing at all, it sure made my band teacher happy.
I have a wonderful life now. I’m in the marching band and I’m Drum Line and Pit co-captain (pretty impressive since it is my second year in the marching band :p). I currently play Bass 2 and plan on staying on it for the rest of high school since it is tradition that Bass line captain is usually on Bass 2. I’ve made a ton of friends since high school started along with losing some. Sometimes you have to do what will benefit you rather than others right? Along with having a great start to high school and the next 2 and a half or so years ahead of me, there have been some bumps in the road. On January 2^nd, 2013 my great grandpa died, and it was extremely hard on me.
My future plans are extremely simple. I would like to be an elementary school teacher when I grow up. I love working with kids. I have a weak spot for them and it would make me extremely happy to know I played a role in their education and well future in that matter. I will be putting that plan on sort of hold after high school. Once I get out of high school I would like to join the Cadets and march until I turn 21 since that is the max amount of years you can march with a Drum Corps. DCI (Drum Corps International) is one of my goals in life. So I plan to work extra hard these next few years to be capable of doing it. Well that’s pretty much all you need to know about me that’s well, important. So I guess thanks, and I will see you tomorrow?