Human Nature

     Human nature, as presented in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, is self-centered and evil. Once you peel back the layers of civilized life, you reach the core of every human being. According to Golding, the center of a human is selfish and savage-like. People, when put in certain situations, care about their needs only. Humans do whatever it takes to survive when put in these kinds of situations.

     In Lord of the Flies, even the most civilized and well-mannered boys turned into savages at some point in the book. Fear of self-harm caused the boys to do things that they wouldn't normally do in a regular, civilized society. The boys in the book were selfish, greedy, and power-hungry. They all did terrible things to ensure that they maintained or bettered their social status. For example, Jack tried to kill Ralph because Ralph was originally voted chief, so whenever Jack claimed himself to be chief later on, Ralph became a serious threat to Jack's authority over the others.

Writing Center Experience

     Ok, well, I haven't been to the Writing Center yet, but I just scheduled an appointment for this Wednesday during my study hall period. I will be bringing in my NHD thesis proposal to get help editing it and fixing some of the writing errors within the paper. I am really looking forward to it, because I think that the appointment will vastly improve my writing skills. I had previously scheduled an appointment well before the Thanksgiving Break, but unfortunately I was unable to go to school that day.

Reading Log:

Lord of the Flies - William Golding:
12/6/13 - 45 min.
12/8/13 - 75 min.

Total: 120 min.

Reading Log 12/2/13

Reading Log

Lord of the Flies

William Golding:

-11/18/13:45 min.

-11/24/13: 45 min.

-11/25/13:30 min.

Total: 120 min.

Thanksgiving Week

First of all, on Friday afternoon, I get to hang out with my friends. After school, we are going to do a myriad of activities, including playing miniature golf! After that, we are going to go out to eat, and go to the movies. We are going to see Catching Fire!!!! This is something that I have been looking forward to since I saw The Hunger Games. They are going to spend the night at my house after that, and the next morning (obviously we will sleep in first, though), we are going shopping! Later that weekend, my family and I are going to our camp for Thanksgiving. I get to go fishing, ride four-wheelers, hike, and hunt. I can't wait for this stress-free week-long vacation, so I will be refreshed and ready to go back to school next Monday!

Blog Prompt

Imagine yourself in a scene from one of your favorite books. Rewrite that scene as if you were the character, with your thoughts streaming throughout the scene. Also, feel free to change any choices made by the original character; remember, this is from your point of view, so what would you do in that situation?

A scene from Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins:
(in the end, where Katniss wakes up in the hovercraft, oblivious to the chaos throughout Panem)

I wake up, finally free from the dreadful restraints. I am still weak, but I manage to prop myself up into a sitting position on my hospital bed. Peeta. Oh no... Peeta? Where is he? I stumble along in the hovercraft looking for someone willing to give me information as to what is going on and where Peeta is. I overhear Haymitch talking to Finnick, and anger and confusion immediately courses through my veins. I burst through the doors acting as a barrier between the others and me. "What is going on?" I ask Haymitch irritably.
 "Well, sweetheart. Had enough of knocking yourself out?" he says sarcastically. I glance over to Finnick, and I remember why I am here.
"Peeta?" I say weakly. Haymitch's hard glare finally weakens as he looks down at the floor.
Before he can say anything, Finnick interrupts, "The Capitol hovercraft got to him before us." All of a sudden, too many images to count flash through my head, of the terrible things that President Snow is having done to Peeta to try to extract information out of him that he doesn't even know. I can feel my throat closing up, and storm off to my bed to grieve in private.

Reading Log:
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins:
11/16/13 - 30 min.

Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins:
11/17/13 - 180 min.
11/18/13 - 60 min.

Total: 270 min.

City Meet

So, as some of you know, last weekend the swim team had their City Meet. Since this is my first year on the team, I had never been to one before, and overall it was a great experience. I swam the 100 yard breaststroke, and I dropped 7 seconds from my last time! This new time, 1 min. and 26.4 seconds, put me as the top 16th 100 yard breaststroke swimmer in all of Baton Rouge! I was thrilled that I was going to get to swim in the Championships the next day, but I was even more excited about coming so close to my year's goal (which, when I set it, I didn't realize how insane it was, because I had to drop like thirty seconds from my original time). My goal was to qualify for the State Meet, and in order to do that I would have to swim the 100 yards of breaststroke in 1 min. and 25.96 seconds, which is only .44 seconds faster than my previous time. So, on the day of the Championships, I swam my hardest and I realized that the less than 1/2 a second was not going to be easy to lose, especially being sore from the meet the day before. I did not qualify, but I did learn some valuable lessons. (Sorry if this seems like a mom lecturing you about good things coming from not-so-great events, but it is true.) Anyway, I learned that not succeeding makes the times that you do succeed so much better. With a little more training, I am sure that I will qualify next year, and I think that I will appreciate that success much more, having not achieved that goal so easily.

LOTF Class Activity Reflection

During our "on a deserted island" simulation activity, the first issues discussed were the basics for survival, including food, water, and shelter. In reality, I think that there would eventually, if not immediately, have been multiple students, including myself, who would not act as level-headed as was shown during the activity. Obviously there would be no dry-erase board or paper to design a plan, and I am sure some of us would be hysterical at this point already. In class, all of us were calmly designing individual plans, then discussing them with the others to decide which parts of what plans would be most effective for survival. Even during our class simulation, though, we had disagreements as to who should be the "leader", and which issue should we concern ourselves with first. On an actual deserted island, the reality of being there forever would create such a high amount of tension that it would feel like a suspended weight above your head, ready to flatten you at any moment. This would obviously cause most, if not all of us, to lose our sense of humanity and become savage-like, rendering all possibilities of escape hopeless.

Reading Log:

Lord of the Flies, William Golding:
11/09/13 - 30 min.
11/10/13 - 30 min.

Allegiant, Veronica Roth:
11/04/13 - 30 min.
11/05/13 - 30 min.

Total: 120 min.

Reading Log 11/04/13

Allegiant, Veronica Roth

10/30/13 - 30 min.
10/31/13 - 20 min.
11/01/13 - 45 min.
11/02/13 - 30 min.
11/03/13 - 20 min.

Total: 145 min.

Allegiant Reading Response

Allegiant, written by Veronica Roth, is the third and final book of the  epic Divergent series. I downloaded the book only a couple of days ago (it came out on Oct. 22nd), so I haven't read very much of it yet. I am greatly looking forward to reading this book and seeing Veronica's conclusion the heart-wrenching saga. Although  I am very pleased that the final book is now in my possession, and I can finally see how the story ends, I am slightly upset that Tris and Tobias' adventures will come to an end as soon as I read the last words on that last dreadful yet amazing page.
Anyway...so far, I really enjoy how Veronica has set up the novel in a way so that the readers can see the story from both Tris and Tobias' point of views. This is a really cool way to allow the reader to make their own connections to the story. It is also very interesting (but frustrating) when we, the readers, know something that one of the main characters do not know, which is what will most likely occur with Veronica Roth's set-up.

Short Stories for Literary Analysis

The three short stories that I have chosen to read are Araby, by James Joyce, The Chrysanthemums,  by John Steinbeck, and A Worn Path, by Eudora Welty. After much consideration, I have decided to use The Chrysanthemums as the focus short story for my literary analysis. This is because The Chrysanthemums is not only long enough to contain many literary elements, but the main character, Elisa, would be a great example of a round character. (A round character can have multiple personalities, meaning that he/she cannot be strictly classified under one category.)

Elisa, in The Chrysanthemums, originally seems to be a very intense and precise gardener, and the readers get the impression that perhaps she is so obsessed with gardening because of her mother. Although John Steinbeck does not directly dismiss this idea in his writing, he does seem to give the impression that Elisa simply gardens furiously to keep her mind off of what she really wants to do in life. She wants to have the freedom to do whatever she wants whenever she wants, just as a man is free to do without being persecuted.

Reading Log:
short story work: 10/25/13 - 30 min
                            10/26/13 - 50 min
Allegiant, Veronica Roth : 10/27/13 - 20 min
                                           10/28/13 - 20 min
Total:120 min

My Personal Questions and Reading Times

-How do authors create interesting characters?
-How do authors create realistic settings?
-What kinds of writing styles do I like most?
-What makes me want to read or not?

Reading Log:

10/9/13 - annotated bibliography: 60 min.
10/10/13 - writing short story: 30 min.
10/11/13 - writing short story: 30 min.

Reading Log

10/1/13: The Girls in Their Summer Dresses - 25 min.
10/2/13: Waltz of the Fat Man - 35 min.
10/6/13: Articles on the Holocaust - 30 min.
10/7/13: The Return - 30 min.
Total: 120 min.

My Short Story Plot

exposition: The main character, whose name I have not chosen yet, and her best friend, Catherine, are living their normal, teenage lives. They go to a regular high school, where nothing interesting ever happens.
rising action: Catherine starts acting strange, and creepy things start happening. The main character is trying to figure out what is going on.
climax: Catherine goes missing, and the main character is trying to find clues as to where she is and why. Also, will she be next????
falling action: The main character starts to piece together what has happened and what is about to happen.
resolution: I am not going to elaborate on this because I don't want to give too much away, but basically the main character finds out the truth about what has been going on in this small, quiet high school.

Pros and Cons of Class-Reading

     Typically, I do not like to be assigned a specific book to read, and to read with a class. I usually like to read a book that I want to read at my own pace, without having to constantly stop and annotate. Personally, I feel that this takes away from the story. Although these are my typical personal opinions on this matter, I do feel that reading these short stories as a group is helping my comprehension of particular aspects in a short story. Even though it is frustrating to have to annotate, it does help to have a solid topic to focus on, instead of "just reading".
    I find it very useful for us to focus on one aspect of a short story at a time, instead of all at once. Annotating each individual short story while looking for specific things, helps me to concentrate and not get distracted. Also, this tactic helps me to understand each aspect of a short story with more depth. This, I think, will help later on in school when I need to write, in detail, a paper about short stories.

Reading Log:

Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore
9/27 - 60 min.
9/28 - 20 min.
9/29 - 45 min.
9/30 - 60 min.
total: 185 min.

Character Thoughts

     What happened to Catherine today? It is almost like she just vanished! She was in English with me, but when I went to history class she wasn't there. I grabbed my phone off of my bedside table frantically looking through our texts from the night before. She was stressed out about exams coming up soon, and I had been thinking of ways for us to get together and prepare. "Hey" I texted, just to try to see if she has her phone with her, wherever that may be. Thirty minutes later...still no reply. I shouldn't overreact, it is 11:30 at night, typically no one would respond to a text this late. She is probably sleeping. I set my phone back down as I tried to block my feelings of doubt from entering my brain. Last night she texted me at 1:30. STOP. Why wouldn't she text me now? Cut it out! Fine then, I will just try to get some sleep tonight, and see if she is at school tomorrow. I close my eyes and rest my heavy head on my pillow, and try not to think about the unthinkable.

     I look at my phone the next night, and notice the date...Friday the 13th. My heart drops to my stomach as I think about how Catherine wasn't at school AGAIN today. Wasn't she supposed to come over to my house tonight so we could study for exams? I check my texts, and realize with horror that, yes, she was. She didn't even call, or try to contact me in some way to let me know that she was not coming over. There must be something wrong. The clock in my bedroom struck midnight, and then the lights went out.

Bitterblue Review Part 3

     I am a little over halfway done with Bitterblue, currently, and there is a lot of drama occurring at this point in the novel. Bitterblue and Saf kissed, then she left because she suddenly realized that she had been lying to him all this time, and was concerned about what would happen if he found out the truth, after he trusted her. The next day, he was framed for a murder, and was taken to Bitterblue's court to be persecuted...of course, this would happen... When he recognized her, he was furious, and hid his emotions of betrayal by stealing and selling her crown. Currently, Bitterblue is talking to Saf, who has no idea where the crown is now, trying to figure out how to get it back. Normally it wouldn't be that big of a deal to Bitterblue, except that stealing the crown is considered an act of treason, which is punishable by death, so Bitterblue is in quite the dilemma, and Saf is too busy being amused with his act to care about the punishment. Luckily, there is still another half of the book to read, so I know that this is not how the story ends.
     Since this is the last book of the series, I will need another book/series to read soon. I need suggestions please! Also, if I read the book that you suggest, I will give you a shout-out in my next reading response post!


Reading Log:

Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore
9/18 - 45 min.
9/20 - 135 min.
Total: 180 min.

Enhancements to Goosebumps Obsession

• Some images of a few of my favorite Goosebumps books, including the one that I indirectly mentioned in my paper, Night of the Living Dummy, would enhance the writing of my paper, helping the readers to visualize what I was reading.

• Since an MLA formatting is not required for the e-book version of our literacy narratives, I think that it would be interesting to set up mine as a journal, and maybe fill the edges with doodles, to make it look like a 3rd grade writing entry.

• I am probably going to create a list of as many Goosebumps books as I can remember reading in the 3rd grade, and that could be a link from my literacy narrative.

Bitterblue Review Part 2

    I am a little under halfway through Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore, already, despite my recent lack of free time. Already I can see how certain key points in Fire are going to be relevant in this novel, and am extremely excited to see how everything is going to play out. Bitterblue has met Saf, a Graceling she is not quite sure what to think of, but I can already see a huge problem occurring. (Bitterblue has kept her identity a secret from him, because he wouldn't trust her if he knew that she was the queen). Bitterblue is finally going to gain Saf's trust, and when he discovers who she really is, he is going to be devastated about her lack of honesty, and this will, I am assuming, become a major issue in the pages to come.
    Hopefully, this is not how Kristin Cashore will continue her infamous streak of making you feel really connected to a particular character, then have an ending where something terrible happens to that character. I am really hoping that Kristin is not going to let Bitterblue and Saf's relationship blossom, then go down in flames when he discovers who she is, and if that is what happens, then -PLEASE KRISTIN CASHORE- do not let the series end that way! Hopefully Kristin will have found a way to let her regain his trust, and for them to be friends again. Bitterblue is discovering the true meaning of friendship currently, because most people that want to hang out with her only want to become king, and since Saf doesn't even know that she is the queen, he obviously likes her for who she is as a person.



Reading Log:
Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore
9/10 - 30 min.
9/15 - 45 min.
9/16 - 45 min.
Total: 120 min.

Bitterblue

     I am finally getting to the end of the Graceling series, and I am very excited to see how Kristin Cashore ties all of the seemingly random facts together. In my last reading post, Fire, I was upset about the devastating ending, so hopefully this will not happen again. I am pretty much still in the introduction stage of the book, which is very long, so I can't really say exactly what Bitterblue is about. So far, it is about King Leck's daughter, Bitterblue, the new ruler of Monsea, and her quest to undo the mental damage that Leck's reign has caused the people of Monsea. Bitterblue is now 18, approximately 9 years after Katsa and Po rescued her from Leck and his brainwashed army. So far, I do partially see how Kristin Cashore is going to make the books in the series relate to each other, and Kristin has already filled in most of the gaps about King Leck's past, including what he did to make Bitterblue and her mother try to escape.
     To answer your questions, Emelia,  it was interesting to get to learn more about the characters' backgrounds, but yes, I would have preferred for it to have been done in a different manner. It seemed too random, like she was required to give the information, but didn't know where to put it. It almost seemed like she decided to put a fact about a different character in every other sentence, and not relate it to anything immediately. Kristin Cashore has already, within the first few pages of Bitterblue, tied together some facts, so I am anxious to see how the rest will fit in. Also, the original characters of the series, Katsa and Po, are back in the book, but not as the main characters. (They work together to help Bitterblue rule Monsea properly.) I am glad that some of my questions have been answered, but I am excited to read on and see how the characters in Fire play a role in this book, Bitterblue.

Reading Log:

Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore
9/8 - 120 min.
9/9 - 40 min.
Total: 160 min.

Birthday Party Drama

Marissa was walking to class when her best friend, Taylor, walked up. "What's up?" Taylor asked.
"Nothing much", Marissa replied.
"Are you going to that snob, Hannah,'s Birthday Party?"
"I didn't know her birthday was coming up!"
"What, did you not get an invitation?"
"No, I can not believe that she didn't even bother to invite me!"
"Well, do you even know when her birthday is?"
"No... I guess I don't know her that well anyway."
"Why don't you ride with me, and I say that I brought you as a guest?"
"Sure, thanks. I can't wait to see the look on Hannah's face when she sees me there!"



*These characters are not based on real people*

"This is Water" Review

    "This is Water" really put me in my place momentarily. It made me realize and frown upon all of the times that I have let myself be judgmental of others, without even thinking that maybe that person has had a bad day. Maybe that person with their splotchy face and messed-up hair isn't weird, maybe their parent or someone important to them died. Maybe they didn't have the time in the morning to fix their hair because they were in a wreck and couldn't deal with making themselves look "presentable". "This is Water" really made me think, and be grateful for all that I have. I live in a happy family environment, I live in a great neighborhood, I have nice friends, and I go to a great school.
    Obviously I am not saying that I am such an amazing person and only think positive things about others. I cannot promise anyone, or even myself, that I will never be judgmental again. I can try my hardest, though, to look on the bright side of things every now and then. I can find some ray of sunshine in a tornado of bad events. I can swim through the murky parts of life to get to the clear patches, where I see the big picture, how I live my life now.

Fire

     Fire, the second book in the Graceling series, disappointed me. I was really looking forward to reading about Katsa and Po again, as most series would do, but instead, Kristin Cashore practically created a whole new story. Technically, it still mentions Katsa and Po's world, but only briefly, and the characters, Katsa and Po, are not even in this story! Also, the entire book is sort of like a flashback, which was interesting but did irk me, because I was expecting a book series where events would occur in chronological order. *SPOILER ALERT* In Graceling, Katsa killed King Leck, and in the next book, Fire, Leck is in almost the entire story, but as a child. I thought that this was going to be an interesting way to give the background information, but it wasn't really cool, it was just annoying. Also, I did not like the endings for either book, Graceling or Fire, because of the terrible endings in each. I personally think that Kristin Cashore finds it amusing to make the reader fall in love with the characters, then, at the end, make them suffer through their favorite character's slow, painful death.:(
     Ok, I am glad to get that out of my system...sorry for ranting, guys. Despite my dislike for the order of events and some of the events themselves in Graceling and Fire, I did enjoy each book individually, (obviously besides the endings) but they just did not seem to go well together. Against my better judgment, I am going to start reading the final book in the series, Bitterblue, which will hopefully tie the stories together and help me to make some sense out of the chaotic order of events. Hopefully Kristin Cashore does not stick to her pattern of tragic endings.



Reading Log:

Fire, Kristin Cashore
8/28 - 150 min.
8/29 - 90 min.

Fun in the Sun

    Although the swim team seems like no fun, and, yes, I may act like it occasionally, but the hard work is inspiring, and we get to have fun, too! Last Saturday, the entire varsity swim team was invited to attend a "get to know you" party. It took place at my friend's house, because her brother is on the swim team. I was nervous at first, because I didn't know where my friends were, or even if they were coming, and also I didn't want to be there with a bunch of seniors that I didn't even know. Once I got there, though, I found my group of friends and we started talking, which eased my tense visage. We ate tons of delicious food, and we rode around in their boat. Eventually, I worked up the courage to go inner tubing, which seemed like an insuperable task, because none of my friends wanted to actually get in the water. Afterwards, though, I was really glad that I had done it, because it was SO much fun! I ended up going at least 5 times, and then somehow I got the idea to go wakeboarding WITHOUT my friends!?!? (They had to go to a dance, so they DESERTED me with a bunch of acquaintances (just kidding, they were all really nice)). I don't know what happened so that I felt that I could even attempt that and still have my dignity, but I tried, and after about 11 or 12 total wipeouts, just when I was ready to give up, I tried one more time and managed to stand and make it across the entire lake! (...then I fell again...) Overall, it was an amazing experience, and I am looking forward to more fun swim meetings!

Graceling

     Graceling, written by Kristin Cashore, was one of my favorite books that I have read in a while. I loved the plot line, the characters, the theme, and just about everything else. Katsa is not only an amazing character in Graceling, but she is a stupendous example of someone searching for her identity. Anyone and everyone can relate to Katsa, because at one time or another, everyone feels that they do not know who they are, and Kristin Cashore has transferred a teenager's every-day life into a fantastic adventure novel.
     Kristin Cashore, through Katsa, shows what it would be like to live in a world with magical powers. It would add complication to minor every-day issues, but on the other hand, it would add depth to any ordinary activity. Katsa and Po are perfect for each other, because of their magical abilities. No one else would understand Katsa or Po as they would each other, because their extraordinary abilities are not something that they can explain to someone who has no idea what it is like to have them. Po makes Katsa stronger, and visa-versa, which makes them work perfectly as a couple.

Reading Log:

Graceling, Kristin Cashore
8/20 - 90 min.
8/21 - 85 min.
8/22 - 55 min.
8/23 - 160 min.
Total: 390 min.

Outside Reading

8/18 - 60 min. - Graceling, Kristin Cashore
8/18 - 60 min. - Summer Reading Book Chat Project
Total - 120 min.

Getting To Know Me

   Since this is my first free blog, I figured I should introduce myself. I was homeschooled last year, as a lot of you know, so I got to travel a lot with my family. We went all over the United States, visiting many historical sites. Also, we traveled across Europe, where I saw many places including Spain, France, Italy, and more. In France, I saw the Eiffel Tower and The Arch de Triumph, and we even got to spend the night at a real castle in the French countryside! We also visited Pompeii, an old civilization that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. It was really cool, and it was a great learning experience. It is much better to actually learn about a place or event through experience, instead of just memorizing facts from a textbook.
   
     My hobbies are swimming and reading, and I am thrilled to be swimming on my school's swim team this year. Some of my favorite book series are the Harry Potter series, the Hunger Games series, the Chaos Walking series, the Beautiful Creatures series, and the Uglies series. If anyone has any suggestions for books I would like, I am open for any ideas, and am always looking for a new book to start

Summer Reading

                Divergent, written by Veronica Roth, was my favorite book that I read over the summer. Once I finished it, I immediately searched for the next book, Insurgent, and read it in a matter of hours. Veronica Roth has a great style of writing that made it nearly impossible to put either of the books down, especially once the introductions were done and you felt like you were actually in the book. Then I looked for the third and final book, and was very disappointed and frustrated to discover that it will not be published until October 22^nd. While searching for the third book, I discovered that the movie is in the process of being made, so I am very excited to go see that. Hopefully the director has chosen good actors/actresses to play the major roles, because I loved the books and do not want the movie to ruin the series for me.

One aspect of the book that I especially liked was how Veronica Roth made the fear landscape seem fairly realistic. Sometimes it was hard to remember that everything that was on the pages at that point was only going on in their heads. Especially for the fairly realistic ones, such as when Tris and Tobias were in the box in Tobias’ fear landscape. That part, for me, in particular was difficult to remember that it was only in their imaginations. Also, I like the message that the book gives about how being different may seem to be a bad thing at first, but in reality, that is what makes each individual person special.