"On Dunpster Diving"

Sydney Rose
Mrs. Parkinson
English IIIB
13 April 2016
     The author reduces the stigma of poverty throughout the article. Towards the end the author says, "by far the best way to go through a Dumpster is to lower yourself into it" (Eighner 723).  To most people, the thought of lowering yourself into a dumpster is repulsive. To Eighner, it's the best way, as he explains further on in the paragraph when he says, "most of the good stuff tends to settle at the bottom because it is usually weightier than the rubbish" (Eighner 723).
     The author also knocks on those who don't dumpster dive. He says. "perhaps everyone who has a kitchen and a regular supply of groceries, has, at one time or another, made a sandwich and eaten half of it before discovering mold on the bread or got a mouthful of milk before realizing the milk had turned. Nothing of the sort is likely to happen to a Dumpster diver because he is constantly reminded that most food is discarded for a reason" (Eighner 714).  He is explaining that dumpster diving has its benefits, which not all people realize.

     While everyone else is throwing away perfectly good food and getting sick over spoiled food, Eighner is eating happily.

Kindness

“’If I was a relative of yours I’d shoot myself’” (Steinbeck 24) George says to Lennie in Of Mice and Men.  Is he really being mean or is it just a joke?  I think it’s a little bit of both.  George and Lennie are an inseparable duo that look after each other.  When Lennie gets himself into trouble, like with the dress in Weed, George protects him and bails him out.  Although I think George is thankful to have someone to travel with and be his friend, I think he beats himself up a little bit for it being Lennie, who he constantly has to look out for.  George wants a little more freedom than he gets with Lennie, and it causes him to make mean jokes that aren’t actually true. 

            Although the jokes aren’t returned, it could also be the kind of friendship that George and Lennie have.  I have friends that make fun of me and I make fun of them, but it’s not harmful in any way because we know the other person is joking.  Lennie could know that George doesn’t mean what he says about him, so he doesn’t care George isn’t kind to him.  All the nice things George does for Lennie outweighs the “harmful” things said.  

Harlem Renisance Poetry

When studying historical poems, it can be hard to interpret the meanings within them.  But, when given a closer look, these deeper meanings become evident.  Countee Cullen’s poem “Tableau” mentions “That lightning brilliant as a sword / Should blaze the path of thunder” (11-12).  At a glance, one might miss the deeper meaning within this metaphor.  But, this metaphor is what gives the student an ability to take something away from the poem.  The poem previously talked about two biracial friends walking together, and the toll it takes on the people around them.  When this metaphor is added to the end, it allows the reader to see the significance within the poem by showing the reader that a small spark, such as two biracial friends walking together, can pave way for an even bigger boom, such as the end of segregation.  The smallest of acts can lead to the biggest of outcomes.  

George Saunders, “The Importance of Kindness”

They employ techniques of narrative.

     George Saunders does this especially well in his speech. He starts off by describing this girl that moved to his school.  The imagery is strong when he says, "Ellen was small, shy, and she wore these blue cats eye glasses that, at the time, only old ladies wore.  When nervous, which is pretty much always, she had a habit of taking a strand of hair in her mouth and chewing on it" ("The Importance of Kindness").  Sharing this information with us allows the listener/ reader to get a mental picture what Ellen looked like and how she acted, adding to her characterization.
     After Saunders is done describing her, he moves on to the fact that she was bullied.  He supports this claim with dialogue from other kids and what they'd say to her.  For example, the kids would say, "your hair taste good?" ("The Importance of Kindness").  When Saunders shares this piece of evidence with us, we, as readers, feel more sympathetic for Ellen.  The fact that he gave an example of what the kids would say gets our attention and is more powerful than just saying she was bullied.  It was previously mentioned that she chewed on her hair, but now we know that she was bullied for that reason, furthering Ellen's characterization.
     The greater idea is apparent by the end of the speech.  Saunders says, "what I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.  Those moments when another human being was there in front of me, suffering, and I responded sensibly, reservedly, mildly" ("The Importance of Kindness").  The moral of his story was to not be a bystander-to help others in need when they need it, instead of just letting it happen.

They offer surprising information and observations.

     Saunders surprised me when he said that what he regretted was that he failed to help Ellen and be kind to her.  You would think that'd he would regret something that seemed bigger, like where he went to college or something, but instead he regrets not standing up to people and not being kind.  He used a matter-of-fact tone when he said that's what he regretted, since he gave examples of why he shouldn't regret how he treated Ellen.  He says, "relative to most of the other kids, I was actually pretty nice to her, I never said an unkind word to her, in fact I sometimes even mildly defended her" ("The Importance of Kindness").  

     

Vignette from Catcher in the Rye

The vignette that I chose was from chapter 16, when Holden is talking about the museum.  Within this vignette, Holden says, "the floor was all stone, and if you had some marbles in your hand and you dropped them, they bounced like madmen all over the floor and made a helluva racket, and the teacher would hold up the class and go back to see what was going on" (Salinger 134).  This moment within the vignette was especially powerful, because you get to see a character trait of Holden, through showing, not telling.  By dropping the marbles, you can tell that he is not one to follow rules, and that he wants to do his own thing. It also shows that Holden wants to be funny to others, because his classmates probably laughed when this happened.

Catcher in the Rye 9-10

Option 1

As the article says, "you just might have a rattle, as well" ("Your Rattle No One Else Can Hear?").  For Holden, this rattle is the death of his brother, Allie.  Although he died a few years ago, Holden is still sensitive about his death and is depressed that he no longer has anyone to talk to. Allie's baseball mitt that Holden keeps helps him deal with his death in its own way. The article is really about things that shake up our lives that we're dealing with, but maybe other people aren't dealing with and/or can't relate to the pain you're feeling.

Not many people know about the baseball mitt; Holden keeps it to himself and doesn't share it with others unless he's really close with them.  He says, "all I had to do was change Allie's name so that nobody would know it was my brother and not Stradlater's" (Salinger 44).  In the article, the salesman couldn't hear the rattle.  This is symbolizing people that aren't close to the author, and how the salesman doesn't share the same pain as the author does.  Then, there are also people who do know about the baseball mitt, just like the husband in the article, since he heard the rattling of the car, and it affected him, too.

The author of the article uses the simple rattle of the car to push forward the greater idea of other people not understanding pain in our lives to help simplify it.  Most of us have experienced how annoying a car rattle is, and we know what it's like to try and show the rattling (or something else) to someone and it's gone.

The loss of his bother has left Holden without anyone to talk to.  In chapter 9 we see him trying to communicate with the taxi driver when he says, "by any chance, do you know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?" (Salinger 67). This proves that the death of his brother has rattled up his life.  

Looking for Alaska- Summer Assignment Post 4

I chose to read this book because I read The Fault in our Stars, also by John Green, and loved it.  When I saw another John Green story was an option to read, I didn't even give the other books a second thought.  I had also heard good things about Looking for Alaska from friends and online reviews.  I knew I'd love the book and I wanted to make my summer reading as enjoyable as possible.

Like I said in my earlier post, I would recommend Looking for Alaska by John Green to anyone.  For people who like romance, there's romance.  For the people who like pranks, there are pranks.  For the people who like stories they can relate to, there's real issues that many people can relate to inside the book.  Sure, some guys may not like the romance side of the story, but it actually is a really good book (but then again, what John Green book isn't?).  

If the people that don't like romantic stories look past that one small detail, I think everyone would like it.  There are some points brought out within the book that really make you think about your views, other people's views, and how they relate and how they're similar.  John Green does a really good job of incorporating a lot of religions when talking about religions and a lot of societal issues when talking about societal issues, but he never sways towards one viewpoint or another.  Everyone can agree with at least one point or thought brought out in the book and you may be able to form new opinions after reading.  

I think that if I did have to recommend this book to one group of people in particular, I would recommend it to people who enjoy romance, laughing, and like thinking about the deeper meaning in things, not just thinking at surface level.  

I just want to mention this one point:  the entire story does not require deep thinking.  Most of the story is easy to understand and a light read.  So don't be turned away by me saying that there's deeper meaning and you just want a story to read, not a story you have to think about.  There's a good balance.

Looking for Alaska- Summer Assignment Post 3

Looking for Alaska by John Green could be a book for anyone.  Some people may not necessarily like the storyline, but there are so many great things that John Green points out about friends, family, religion, and just life in general that really made me think.

For example, this quote really made me think about how we, as human beings, spend our lives.  Alaska Young was explaining her views to Pudge when she said, "'Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia....  You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it.  You just use the future to escape the present'" (Green 54).  I really think that what John Green points out about life in this quote is true.  All of us think about the future and I think most of us don't really focus on what's going on in this point in time.  We all have aspirations.  Maybe you're in a race and you want to get a certain time, but you don't think you can do it.  You think to yourself, "I'll get there eventually" but you don't push yourself to work really hard so that 'eventually' is months from now instead of years from now.

Maybe you're not into deep, thought-provoking quotes.  Maybe you just like something light-hearted and funny.  When Pudge and The Colonel were talking about Alaska, The Colonel didn't agree with what Pudge was saying so he said, "'I just did some calculations, and I've been able to determine that you're full of shit'" (Green 78).  I don't know why this was so funny to me, but it was.  I guess witty comments like this one are always funny.  Maybe they are for you, too?

If you'd like to read some more Looking for Alaska quotes to see why you'd be interested in the book, you can click on the link here.

Looking for Alaska- Summer Assignment Post 2

     What does Miles "Pudge" Halter want?  He wants to find himself.  He wants to fit in at his new school and a girlfriend.  But not just any girlfriend.  An Alaska Young girlfriend.  There's just one small problem.  She already has a boyfriend that she loves.

     What does Alaska want?  She wants to escape the labyrinth of suffering.  There's just one small problem.  She doesn't know how to do that.  There's always pain and there's always suffering.

     What does The Colonel want?  He just wants to have a good time, but not get expelled from the school.  The Colonel would also like to be happy with his girlfriend by not continuously fighting.

     There are many themes that are appearing in Looking for Alaska.  To name a couple, there are self discovery and that people are complex and cannot be fully understood.  Pudge went out to Culver Creek to discover his "Great Perhaps".  He wanted to know who he was and see what life had to offer him.  Pudge was in love with Alaska, even though he only knew a little about her life.  After the crash, he realized he didn't know some of the most important events in her life.  Pudge then realized why she did all the things she did.  He found her mysterious and that was what made her intriguing.

     Looking for Alaska is structured in a very unique way.  Instead of chapters, each event is categorized by "days before" and "days after" Alaska's death.  In the beginning of the book, you didn't know what Pudge was counting down to.  As the days lessen and lessen, you start to predict what is going to happen.  Then, finally, you get to "the day after" and your heart just drops.  The entire mood of the story changes.

Looking for Alaska- Summer Assignment Post 1

     It's not hard to tell that one of the main characters in Looking for Alaska by John Green is Alaska, hence the title of the book.  But who are the other characters?  The story is told in the point of view of Miles "Pudge" Halter, the new kid at Culver Creek High School in Alabama.  During his first day arriving at his new school as a junior, he befriends his roommate, Chip Martin, aka "The Colonel".  Not long after meeting The Colonel, he is introduced to Alaska Young, the breathtaking and rebellious girl on campus.  Pudge has feelings for her almost instantaneously.

     In order to smoke cigarettes without getting caught by The Eagle (the code name for the school's principal), the friends go off to the "Smoking Hole" by the river, where they believe The Eagle can't smell their smoke.  During this time, Alaska says, "'Y'all smoke to enjoy it.  I smoke to die'" (Green 44).  After reading these words, I just knew that something was going to happen to Alaska.  And I was right.

     Alaska dies in a car crash about halfway through the book.  Everyone is devastated.  Everyone thinks it was an accident...except Pudge and The Colonel.  They were the only two with Alaska that night.  And they're not convinced that it was an accident.  Maybe it was a suicide?  Maybe it really was an accident and they're just over thinking things?  To find out the answer, the two set off gathering anything and everything they can that relates to her death.

     Were they responsible for her death since they let her out driving, even though she was drunk and upset?  Or are they just putting too much on themselves while trying to cope with their best friend's death?  I think the answer to these questions is yes.  Yes, they shouldn't have let Alaska go out in the middle of the night while intoxicated and emotionally upset.  But, yes, they are putting too much on themselves.  If it really was a suicide, then there was nothing they could've done to save her.


    In a way, this book reminds me of the book, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  Sure, in Jay Asher's book you know it's a suicide and in John Green's you're trying to figure out if it is or not, but they're both trying to figure out why the character died.

How does R. J. Palacio Write?

The book, Wonder switches characters during every part.  The first part was written in August's point of view, the second in his sister, Via's, the third in his friend Summer's, and so on and so on until part eight where it goes back to August.  I think this is very interesting because you get to see how everyone around August feels about his situation and how it affects them.

R. J. Palacio also writes according to how that person would talk, which is interesting.  For example, when the book is written in August's point of view, there are a lot of grammatical errors such as, "I think she's too busy taking care of me and Via" where instead it should be Via and me (Palacio 4).  I think Palacio chose to write this way because August is a 5th grader, and you wouldn't expect a 5th grader to have perfect grammar.

Via's section is free of grammatical errors.  Via is a freshman in high school so she's expected to know more grammatical conventions and is less likely to have those errors.

I think it is really interesting how based on the character's age, she writes differently.  It makes you feel like the characters are real and the whole book as a whole is more realistic.  I think her writing was really well done.

Auggie Hates School

"'You have to go back to school.  Everyone hates school sometimes.  I hate school sometimes.  I hate my friends sometimes.  That's just life, Auggie.  You want to be treated normally, right?  This is normal!  We all have to go to school sometimes despite the fact that we have bad days, okay?'  'Do people go out of their way to avoid touching you, Via?' he answered, which left me momentarily without an answer.  'Yeah, right.  That's what I thought.  So don't compare your bad days at school to mine, okay?'  'Okay, that's fair,' I said.  'But it's not a contest about whose days suck the most, Auggie.  The point is that we all have to put up with the bad days"  (Palacio 114).

While reading Wonder, I came across this quote and it really made me stop and think about it.  I never realized how true it was, until I read this.   We all have bad days.  Its inevitable.  We all have those days where nothing seems to go our way.  Maybe something embarrassing happened.  Maybe your friend is mad at you.  Whatever it is, we all have those days where we just want to hide from the world.  What gets us through them is knowing that tomorrow is another day with a clean slate.

Auggie takes his sister's advice and goes back to school.  He ignores the kids that were talking bad about him, and gets through it.  Now, he's happy in school.

About the Author

As you may know, I began to read Wonder by R. J. Palacio a few weeks ago.  R. J. Palacio is an American author, who's career has just taken off with her hit Wonder.  She has not written any other books, besides Wonder.  She has always wanted to write, she just had to wait for the perfect opportunity for her career to launch.  After 20 years of being an art director and a book jacket designer, Palacio realized that she had to initiate that "perfect time" herself.  She considers home in NYC with her husband, two children, and two dogs.

For more information, visit her website.

Wonder

     I've decided not to read the Divergent series a fourth time, as much as I want to (shocker, right?).  Instead, I've decided that I'm going to read the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  At the end of last trimester, we shared our favorite books that we had read so other people could find books that they might enjoy.  This book was shared with our class, and I thought it would be a really interesting book to read. 

     Wonder is about a boy, August Pullman, who was born with a facial deformity. He's been sheltered his entire life, up until the beginning of the book.  August is a good kid, he's just never been able to fit in.  Will he be able to make friends?  Will the people around him accept him for who he is, despite his face?  I'm excited to find out.

Tris Prior

     Let me just start out by saying that if you haven't read all three books in the Divergent series, and you plan to, stop reading now.  This post will spoil the ending for you, and trust me, you won't see it coming.

     In the start of Divergent, Beatrice was going on and on about how she wasn't selfless enough for her current faction.  She thinks to herself at the dinner table one night, "I am not sure I can live this life of obligation any longer.  I am not good enough" (Roth 35).  So, as we all know, she switched to Dauntless.  Sure, at that time she wasn't acting selfless, and it didn't come easy to her to help total strangers.  But by the end of the series, I think it's obvious that this is not true at all.

   

Tris helping Four through his fear landscape.

In the first book, she helps Four get through his fear landscape.  This was only a small act of selflessness, but it's where it started.  Even though it got a little bit uncomfortable for her, she still put him first and made sure he made it through the landscape okay.

     At the end of the first book, Caleb and Tris go to the compound where the attack was being controlled at.  She doesn't want her brother getting hurt so Tris goes into the control room, not knowing what was in there, and finds Tobias running the whole simulation.  She tries to snap him out of it, but she can't.  Tobias attacks her, and is about to kill her.  She accepts this, and right before she was about to die, Tobias fights the serum off and realizes what he's doing and stops.  The fact alone that she didn't let her brother go into the control room to make sure nothing happens to him, is enough proof of her selflessness.  Then, when she is willing to let Tobias kill her, so that she doesn't have to hurt him, is another selfless act.

     In the second book, Insurgent, Jeanine wants to run tests on all the Divergents. To get their attention, she makes people commit suicide unwillingly, by using a serum.  Tris decides that she can't just let lots of people die, so she turns herself in.  She knows that she is likely going to be killed, but knowing that she's saving more people, she is willing to die.  Once again, we see her being selfless.

     Again, in Insurgent, Tris makes selfless decisions.  When the characters were rebuilding the Dauntless faction, Tris was nominated to be leader.  She saw that Tobias wanted to be a leader, and thought he would be better at it, so she turned down her nomination.  Tris then nominated him for the position.

Tris has knives thrown at her so her friend doesn't get them thrown at him.

     Let's not forget Tris's most important act of selflessness.  At the end of Allegiant, Tris walks straight into the chamber with the Death Serum, so that her brother doesn't have to.  Caleb, her brother, the TRAITOR, volunteered to do it.  But no, she couldn't let him, instead she killed herself.  No, not almost killed herself, she actually did.  The serum she knowingly walked into, killed her.  Tris Prior killed herself, for her brother.  I tried to stop myself from chucking my e-reader across the room at this point, but it didn't work.  If that doesn't show how selfless she is, I don't know what does.

Divergent or Hunger Games?

     Most teenagers have read the popular trilogy, The Hunger Games.  So when they're recommended Divergent, their excuse is, "It's just like The Hunger Games.  I don't want to read the same story twice."  No.  Just stop right there.  They're not the same, at all. 

     Let's start from the beginning.  Yes, they're both stories of dystopian societies.  Yes, the main character is a female and she falls in love with a small love triangle.  Yes, the main characters have to fight for their rights as citizens and blah blah blah.  But really, that's only the basic stuff.  The story lines are completely different.  In The Hunger Games, the government is trying to punish society for rebelling.  In Divergent, the government thinks they're doing the right thing and actually creating a better society by having the factions and separating people.  The citizens of this society think that they have a nearly perfect society.  The citizens of Panem, with the exception of the capital, know that where they're living isn't safe and their government is corrupt.  And this is only the start of all the differences in the two books.

     Tris, the main character of Divergent, is trying to figure out who she is and how she fits into her society throughout the book.  Katniss is mainly trying to survive and figure out how to get people to like her.  This is the main character difference between the two.  Personally, I think that Tris is more relatable because most of us living here in Mason don't have to fight others for our lives, but some of us may be fighting ourselves to figure out who we are, like Tris.

Here is the trailer for the Divergent movie.  

 So you can compare the two without having read them (if you've been living under a rock), here is the trailer for The Hunger Games movie.

Divergent Book Compared to the Movie

     A few weeks ago, the movie for Divergent came out.  I went to see the premier of the movie since I loooovveed the books.  I've gotta say, the movie is closely tied in with the book, which isn't a surprise.

     There are a few differences, though.  Some are major, some aren't.  For example, they cut Tris's test short.  In the book, her test includes the room of mirrors, the dog chasing the little girl, and her not choosing anything out of the choices in front of her.  This is all included in the movie.  But in the book, her test then goes on to Tris on the bus and lying to the man who asked if she knew the person he was showing her a picture of.  This part of her test did not make the movie.  I feel that this was a significant part that was cut, since it shows that she wouldn't fit into the Candor faction.

     Another thing that was cut from the movie was when Peter stabbed Edward's eye during the night.  I'm not saying I'm upset this was cut, since that would've been really gross to see on a big screen.

     Also, in the books Christina and Will ended up dating.  Then, when Tris kills Will (SPOILER ALERT), Christina doesn't forgive Tris for a long time.  In the movie, Christina and Will's relationship isn't a part of it.  That's going to make it interesting to watch the second movie since Christina and Will weren't as close, Christina probably isn't going to be as upset when she finds out Tris killed him.  This will effect a huge part of the story, because for half of Insurgent, Christina is mad at Tris.

     These are the major differences that I noticed while watching the movie.  Although it seems like they are a lot different, they aren't.  Here is a scene from the movie that is extremely close to the way the scene happens in the book.  This clip is a love scene between Tobias and Tris, so if you don't like that stuff, sorry.

What Faction Do You Belong To?

     With all the hype about the new movie coming out this week, I decided to read Divergent, again (yes, it's that good). The storyline follows a dystopian society in which there are five different factions. There's Erudite (the super geniuses), Abnegation (the selfless people), Dauntless (the fearless fighters who like living on-edge), Amity (those who believe that kindness goes a long way), and Candor (honesty is the best policy).  At the age of 16, everyone takes a test to determine which faction they are best suited for.  Beatrice Prior, also called Tris, is divergent. This means that she fits into multiple factions, not just one like the society she lives in wants.  She has to keep this a secret because if the government were to find out, she will be killed.  

     If I were living in this society, I believe that I would be divergent, like Tris.  I wouldn't fit into just one faction, nor would one be perfect for me.  I try to be at least a little bit of all the five factions.  Most of the time I try to be honest, selfless, nice, smart, and brave.  But, if I had to chose one, I would pick Abnegation.  They don't have the best reputation in the book, but I still like the fact that they help people and put others first.  In this faction, I wouldn't be forced to be kind to everyone. I mean, we all know at least one person that needs to be told off at times.  I wouldn't be forced to tell the truth 100% of the time, and sometimes that's for other people's good.  Abnegation wouldn't force me to be constantly studying and have no life.  I wouldn't be forced to fight people for the fun and thrill of it in Dauntless.  

     As the great Marcus said, "In our factions, we find meaning, we find purpose, we find life" (Roth 43).  If you lived in the world of Divergent, what faction would you choose to belong to and why?

     

Why I Dropped The Book Thief

     There are so many reviews on amazon that rave about how amazing this book is.  "My own words escape me as I try to recount the beauty of this book in a short review" (Tamela Mccann). "I will tell you that this is an astounding book, a beautiful book, and a book that I know I will read again and again" (N. Gargano). "If you only read one book this year, read this one" (B. L. Medford). Because of all these reviews and the movie that had just been released, I decided to pick up this book.  

     Don't get me wrong, this book is a really good book about the holocaust.  Its just not my taste.  I've never really been interested in history, no matter what the event was.  I get it, you have to know what happened so history doesn't repeat itself.  But it still doesn't interest me.  I can sit through one history class a day and be fine, but when I go home and read about it, it just doesn't happen.  I find myself thinking about other things, then not knowing what happened at all in the book.  I think I have fallen asleep reading this book three or four times.  

     When you think about the overall meaning and events that happen in the book, it's actually really good.  Like I said before, it's just not my style.  This book touches on a lot of the harsh conditions and a lot of the events that happened in Germany during the holocaust.  It has a good lesson, and is presented in a really unique way.  Instead of being in the point of view of a Jew, it is narrated by Death, which you don't see much even in fantasy or other kinds of books.  The beginning of the book is really slow, then it picks up a little, then it goes back to being slow.  The second time around of nothing exciting happening, I decided I just couldn't do it anymore.  Sorry, Markus Zusak.

     Historical fiction is just not my thing.  Who knows, it could be yours.  Don't let me stop you from reading this book.  

Blog Reflections

This trimester, I barely read one book.  I am not much of a reader, and my goal was one, so I did meet my goal.  Goodreads wasn’t much of a help to me, to be honest.  I already knew what books I wanted to read.  I felt that it was just one more thing that I had to update and keep track of.  The recommendations that I was given didn’t seem interesting to me at all.  I liked blogging though.  I liked being able to read about other people’s books and what they’re reading to gain suggestions.  

Finding time to read was a struggle for me.  As I stated earlier, I am not much of a reader.  I have other activities that, in my mind, take priority over reading.  I knew that I had to read, so before bed instead of watching Netflix or some other distraction, I would take that 20 minutes to read.  This got easier for me as the book progressed and got more interesting.  Then, I found myself wanting to read.  I started reading for longer periods of time.  

One strength I had while blogging was finding things to blog about.  I think this is partially because I had such an interesting book.  There was so much going on in it, and I sometimes had a hard time narrowing my posts down to just one topic or event happening in my book.  

I think the quality of my writing has increased.  In my earlier posts, I hadn’t voiced my opinion in much that I was saying.  In my later and most recent posts, I have been telling my thoughts on certain things that have been happening in my reading book.  For example, in my post The Book Thief Storyline So Far and Prediction, I just told the reader of my blog about what was happening.  I said, “The part of the story that I am at now, is when the narrator is explaining what Liesel is doing and the struggles that she is facing at school, home, etc.”  This quote that I pulled from one of my posts tells us what is going on in the story, but it doesn’t go into much depth.  It is just a vague overview of that part of the story.  I didn’t say anything about what Liesel is actually going through or what my thoughts are about this part of the story.  Looking back on this post, I don’t even remember what those things that she was struggling with are, and I won’t be able to remember them unless I go back and reread because I was so vague.  In my later points, I have been getting better at adding more detail on what events happened, and as well as my opinion on what has gone on.   In my post entitled The Best Things About the Book Thief, I voice my opinion on certain topics, provided solid evidence of conflict in the book (through a quote), and gave a summary of what has happened.