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.