Blog Entry 11- The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby threw me back into the early years of life. The suspenseful plot pulled me to continue on reading. The story starts with a young man... also known as, Nick. He has just moved into a new neighborhood and from the gatherings out in the neighborhood such as parties, Nick finds out more about the mysterious neighbor who lives in a mansion; Jay Gatsby. As Nick gets to know him more, he actually realizes that all the  rumors about Gatsby were all wrong... well almost. He was indeed a nice man. He also finds out that Gatsby was in love with Daisy who is Nick's cousin and is married to Tom. Nick tries his very best and tries to help the lover.  Nick as planned... invited Daisy to the house with out letting her know that Gatsby would be there. As the chapter closes, Daisy and Gatsby seem to be getting along really well.  As for Nick's love affair, he and Jordan went on a date together. It went pretty well although it was a little bit awkward at first.

There are many characters in the story and the difficult part for me was to remember each persons individual story. I had to turn the page and look back into the characters introduction. The author wrote very clean but some parts were confusing to me. Such as when the book started, it started with an anecdote which confused me slightly.

My predictions are that Daisy and Gatsby will date each other right after the night together and eventually break up because of the differences and because Tom will interfere. And Nick and Jordan will meet up more often... But I do believed that they will have to face some obstacles in order to be together. And of course, I believe that Tom and Gatsby will end up having a controversy. I also think that Tom is an unfaithful man to Daisy and she will find out later.

Blog Entry 10- Roaring Twenties

This game was great fun! It is amazing how time changed everything so quickly. Now, instead of little production the country was producing immensely. I noticed that women gained more rights then before. Before the 20s as I recall from my history class, women had no rights at all. They had to stay home and work there and feed their children. But now, as time changed women could go shopping, work in factories, go to the beach, and go to nightclubs to enjoy life. They also had the rights to go study in universities. I like how women dressed so properly. They had well fitted outfits for each event and if they did not have good clothes on they were seen as different. In clubs, if the dress was too short the doorman would kick the woman out. (??) Another example was that for university... "dark clothes" were proper. Why would that be? Women now had a great time in the sun and the beach instead of worrying if they were getting darker. Now, having a golden tan was considered nice and fashionable.

As I was playing the game... I noticed that women in the 1920s gained more importance. Not only where they working but they also were important for the family. I also like the fact that it was so easy to sit and enjoy an airplane ride (But with the right amount of money!) Women could be seen outside smoking and drinking in nightclubs. It all changed drastically. Because of the changes at that time women now can work and have a better life. I also tried to play as a man for the night club game and saw that it was important to dress nicely in order to show their wealth.

Songs were much more appreciated.  And technology also helped change the society into an era of wealth and change.

Parts 5 and 6 - Mythology

This part of the book made me feel a little different about the tales itself. I felt that these stories were a little bit more based on power. It made me feel bad for those that did not have any power or any thing unique about them because they were treated as pieces of trash in the area. It made me feel that the people in these stories were brutal and rude. No power or beauty can buy happiness. Even people that live in the streets or do not a pot of gold with them have hearts and are human beings. I think this was the time period in which power meant a lot to people and could do anything to obtain it.

I did not like the part of the tales in which people sacrificed bodies and daughters to the gods. Maybe they did not understand which religion or what God really wanted, but this was unnecessary. I was shocked in many parts of the stories because they were so ridiculously weird and vulgar. Monsters such as Sphinx existed and people such as the Proci's sisters who had a tragic love story. I do like the fact that the stories had a common base to it. It held the story strong and brought suspense through out. The power of the powerful people. Love, danger, suspense, tragedy, shame, greed, etc... where all common themes of the stories in these parts.

Parts 3 and 4 - Mythology

I have heard these names before??! I was so glad when I read these stories, because since when I was a child I had heard these names and also saw my brother read a book about them!

I was astonished that such people existed? Or if they did not exist, who would have had come up with these great ideas at that time? I am simply in love with the strong heroes! I wish they really existed! I love how the evil and the good fought with each other in order to gain what ever they needed or wanted to obtain. It also struck me when I saw the difference between Zeus the man who ruled the heavens and Hades who ruled the world that was considered "bad". Hades actually had a heart and understood people and Zeus wanted power and did not care about who he hurt. Was this not supposed to be the other way around? I thought good people lived in heaven? The twists and differences in life at that time attracted me to continue on reading. The Trojan war, actually seemed similar to my brains and that is why I understood it a bit more then I understood the other stories. I also was mesmerized by the power of Atlanta. But I still am not sure if she used her powers in a right way? Because some man had died for her love? The characters from all these stories such as , Odysseus, Hercules, Andromeda, Medusa, Aeneas, etc... held a certain power within them. I felt that everyone had a different ability and power to handle situations.

Parts 1 and 2 - Mythology

As I started reading the book, I actually thought that it would not at all be interesting. But as I went with the flow and continued on reading, I actually started enjoying reading the book. I enjoyed the fact that it was composed of short stories all combined into one book.

I believe that each story written in this realistic book had its value and moral behind it. Although, some of the stories had sad endings, they were of great value and children or even adults should learn from it. I love how the author, Edith Hamilton, wrote these short tales in such an informative way. I also like how stories in this book brought set my mind into the past. It also proves that people were so strong at that time of the period. Noble and innocent yet vulgar if needed to be. The fact that the gods at that time interacted with the people- as they thought, is funny but it also makes the world seem easier to live in. Who would not want to be interacting with, the greatest above all, in times of desperation and happiness? I personally think that stories that are written now are mostly influenced by stories of the past. These stories seem to have a little impact on the movies or stories we read now, I believe.

As a child, I can still remember reading some of these stories in comic books. (Of course, they were a lot easier to read and understand!) And, I personally, learned a lot from each and every story. My impressions at first were unclear but after going through the pages, I finally understood that the stories have a great meaning laying beneath it.

Blog 6- Entry of your choice.

Diversity. 

I was browsing through the list of choices and an idea suddenly clicked into my mind. My diversity and how it changed my perspectives and personality through out my years.  I have looked into different people with different cultures that I have encountered with and I took good ideas out of each. I consider myself multicultural, and I feel that this topic is very strong. So, I have decided to write about it.

A letter from Frankenstien

                                                                                                                                                05/06/1865  Dear Diary,                                  
I have felt that I have changed completely through out this phase of  my life. I was a cheerful young man that changed into a man that was willing to compete himself in order to create this new "being"; this new creature that could maybe have a different personality. In order to achieve this, I had to actually let go of some stuff and actually focus onto what I wanted. Collected old parts of body helped me create this beautiful yet scary "monster"". I did not know, that this monster would or could have killed my father. How could I even create a being that killed my father? Was this what I wanted?

Let me point this out: I was ashamed. I always will be. I thought that by mistreating the new creature, the crazy new monster, I could change things. But what I did was even more shameful. From someone who was so confident and cheerful to someone who could not even face the community anymore. Am I someone else now? Oh and... EVEN ELIZABETH LAVENZA DIED ON THE DAY OF THE WEDDING.

How could my own creation be the reason of my disaster? I do not like who I turned into, and what I did. I wish I could go back to the time where I was more interested into ancient things. I do wish I did not make a mistake as such...

Think twice before you do any thing,
Victor Frankenstein
--
The themes are frankly a little bit more exaggerated. But these themes do exist, such as Gothic lifestyle  dangerous knowledge and secrecy.  They are universal and teach a lesson for those that are maybe going through a phase as such. As a final thought, I enjoyed reading this book. But I will definitely recommend people to read this book if they are into dangerous and mysterious books.

 PS- Sometimes you create a trap and get trapped in it yourself.

Half way through the book.

I love how the story starts with four letters that are Robert Walton's letters to his sister back in England telling her about his dangerous mission. These letters introduce us readers to the book and somewhat hook us in into the book. From these letters, one of the main character of the book is introduced. Victor Frankenstein. Robert Walton is an explorer as well. His attachment to Victoir is indescribable. He understands and communicates with Victoir as if they had met long before. Victoir starts telling Robert his story as his last breath is about to be taken..

Victoir Frankenstein has had a cheerful childhood. He describes his dads love to his mother as "protective". He was brought up in Geneva and was fascinated into learning about ancient things. Everything changed as soon as he went to a university of modern science. This university led him to think in a new way. What is beyond life? What is the secret of life? Frankenstein was so into science that his creative yet careless action led him to create a monster that killed two innocent men including his father.  And now was about to kill his wife and his sister. As the story continues, the monsters personality opens up. The monster was created by old body parts by Frankenstein. At first Victoir sees him with hatred and shame because of his tall and ugly appearance that scared everyone in town. But as the story continued, the monster started helping the poor, saved people from death which showed his sensible side. He was always beaten at. No one tried to understand him. Why do people judge before they hear or think? Victoir was a innocent and cheerful men. But now he turned into a men with guilt and shame. He was so full of shame that he did not approve his mistake. Is he changing?

In the book, bravery, solitude, secrecy and knowledge can be seen as the main themes of the book. As I said before, I knew that this book would teach me a new lesson. What will happen next? I think that Victoir will try to understand the monster and try his best to change things into better situations. In my opinion, Victoir is a brave and intelligent man. But yet, I am confused about how he could try to "compare" himself to the all mighty; God. What goes around comes back around. His own creation killed his own father. Pitiful.

There is another moral I can see from this book. Don't judge a book by its cover. :)

Why Frankenstein?

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley seems to be a book of adventure. From the cover of the book, I can assume that this book will lead me to a story of fear and dangerous lessons in which my heart will stop a beat and will teach me a new moral each time I turn the page. On the cover of the book, there is a quote which goes like this, "If I cannot inspire love, I WILL CAUSE FEAR!" This quote was one of the reasons why I got pulled to reading this inspiring novel. I am looking forward to a book of adventure and anxiety. Yet, I am worried if I will be able to like this book because I am not used to reading fearful books.

Mary Shelley, the author of this novel was born in London in 1797. Shelly usually wrote books to alleviate  herself because she had gone through a rough past. Her father inspired her. He as well enjoyed writing letters and books. She usually wrote books about courage, spirit and wish. She always wrote books that had a strong meaning to the worldly events.

Frankenstein was one of the books that attracted scholars into reading her book. She got even more popular after writing this book. I am looking forward to the mixed emotions I will be feeling while reading this book. It is certainly a good book if it has been read by many people already. I am looking forward to learning a new moral in life that will certainly be used in the future. 

Citation- 
- Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Philippe Munch. Frankenstein. New York: Viking, 1998. Print.
- "Mary Shelley." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 24 June 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley>.

Entry 2 - Impressions

It is amazing how huge this world is. Every one has a different plan and are traveling to different areas. It is also unbelievable that after this summer we will officially be SENIORS!! As for summer, every country is fun and enjoyable as long as our family or friends are with us.

No matter where we are, all of us will be updating our blogs, we will be reading a few books, and of course, we will be having fun. By reading other blog posts, I wish I could accompany everyone and visit the counties they will be visiting.

This blog is an amazing way to share our aspirations and our feelings towards books or our summer. It is also a great way to keep in touch. Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of summer.

Stay safe and take care. :)

Entry 1- Summer

Summer has finally arrived. I really am looking forward to this summer, it gives me quivers all over my body. All I can think of is an amazing summer with my friends and family. Finally, junior year has come to an end. It is crazy how time flies. Thinking about how hard next year will be, I am planning to enjoy summer to the fullest with the friends that I will leave behind in order to go to a university which will be far away. I also do want to spend time with my family as much as I can. 

This summer, I am going to New York with few friends. We will be living in a campus which is provided by the EF school. I am looking forward to the sun, swimming, lots of shopping and many other things. My friends and I will be visiting universities around New York because I am planning to go to a university over there. I am also very excited to watch millions of amazing movies with my brother. After coming back from New York, my family and I are planning to travel somewhere else.

Throughout my summer, I will be working on this blog and I will be reading few books. I am looking forward to AP English next year. I will work hard and try my best to achieve an exceptional grade. I also know that it will be a great year. 

Hope everyone has a great summer!