Persepolis

Originally, i didn't think that i would like Persepolis but i was completely wrong. I actually enjoy reading this book. I never thought that i could get into a book about a girl growing up but it is much more than that. It is her struggle with who she is. I also originally found it very hard to follow what was going on in the story because of all the pictures. Now i am a few hundred pages in and i find that the pictures help me understand what the author is trying to say more clearly.

What are your thoughts on the book?

Final Thoughts On The Book Thief

After finishing The Book Thief and doing the book talk about it, i ended up really liking the book. The way that it was written and the story line was very good. I could really get into the main character Leslie and her story that was being told by death. This was the first time i read a book that was narrated by something like death and in the end he becomes a very likable character. Overall, i really liked this book and recommend it to anyone interested in a good read.

Final Book Project

For my final project i chose to do a CD that relates to The Catcher In The Rye. I thought that i would just breeze through it and do it really fast but i ended up spending quite a long time on it. I chose all different types of songs that were related to the themes and motifs of the book. This project really helped me understand The Catcher a lot better and allowed me to analyze it much closer than i did before.

Some examples of my songs:
Creep, Radio Head
Red Ragtop, Tim McGraw
Are You Sure?, Willie Nelson

Wrongs of Passage

1. I agree and disagree with Sydney. I agree that the rite of passage is going in the wrong direction. It is way to focused on everything but the actually growing up part. No one goes to one of these rich girls or guys sweet sixteen party and says wow, I'm so proud of her, she made it to sixteen years old. The guests only talk about how sweet the performance was or what a cool car. I also agree that there should be some sort of value to growing up. I disagree that it should bring a community together. I think that it is more of a family thing.

2. I anticipate of going through my families rite of passage. My family thinks education is very important so graduating high school is one, if not the main rite of passage. I think i will change because i will/may be treated differently by my family and be involved in more important conversations than just, how was your day today.

The Book Thief

I am reading The Book Thief and so far i really like it. It is a different style of writing that i am not used to but it keeps drawing me in every time i read. I really like the point of view that the book is told from. It was really weird in the beginning because i couldn't figure out who was telling it. It gave small hints about who this person was and then it finally came to me that the narrator is death. Overall, this book is going very good and i am excited to continue this book.

JE Final Reflections "Come Hither"

If i was in Jane's shoes, i would have stayed with Mr. Rochester. Jane has nothing and he is the only one that cares for her. She even says that Thornfield is the first place that feels like home. She is loved and secure there and i would definitely stay with him.

I didn't really end up liking the book. I couldn't get into the writing style and it just wasn't very exciting to me. I am more into an action novel than this kind of novel. It was definitely a difficult read for me. Mostly, what didn't work for me was the fact that i wasn't able to get into the book. I never got myself motivated to read every night.

I guess this would be an OK book to assign in college literature. It is a good example of a novel that not many people would read but you would have to learn to power through it and just get it done. It would get a lot of students ready for college level novels. Overall, i would not assign this book if i taught a college literature class but it would be a decent choice a different teacher to assign.

JE Reaction

While i was reading the latest section of JE, i found it very confusing. After Rochester changed his mind about marring Blanche Igrim and wanted to marry Jane, i found it very confusing why she was so repulsed when he offered to buy here all the gems she could handle and buy her the most beautiful dress. She really didn't want to have all of these luxuries. I just stared reading from the latest point and i don't know if i missed something but why does she not want to have all of this. It seemed to me like they were almost in a fight during some of the scene the next morning she woke up and had a conversation with Rochester. I found this very confusing.

"JE"

I dont have much to say about Jane Eyre. Im finding it very hard to keep up with the readings. I dont know about you but i just dont like the way the book is written with the 19th centurey text. I also dont find this book very exciting because i am more of an action/adventure kind of guy. I dont really make any connections to the characters so that makes it harder to like this book.

If you have any comments or thoughts, please comment.

Dirty Harry

I just wanted to say that i really like the monologue that we had to write. Last night when i was writing this paper, i found it hard to chose what character i wanted to write it on. I had so many choices like Buzz Lightyear and Potato head. I don't know about you but i almost found it easier chose a cartoon character than a real life person. I ended choosing Dirty Harry because i really love his famous line. "You gotta ask yourself", "Do I feel lucky?", "Well, do ya, Punk?"

What were your thoughts about this paper?

Catcher In The Rye?

Well, this was one H E double hockey sticks of a book. I don't have any word to describe what i think about this book. At the beginning of the book, i really couldn't get into and read it. Once i got more toward the end, i wanted to read because everything that Holden was thinking and what Holden was doing got weirder and weirder. I thought that they way the book was read really made it hard for me to get into this book. I don't know what everyone else thought about this book but i can say that this was one of those books that I'm glad i read but never want to read again.

Bloggin' On Holden

The more i read The Catcher In The Rye, the more i am finding Holden a very troubled individual. I have two parts that i found very weird in the first reading.
"...I tried to sock him, with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his goddam throat open."
"That's a wrestling hold, in case you don't know, where you get the other guy around the neck and choke him to death, if you feel like it."

I chose both of these scenes because they both are about killing another person and in Holden's case, Stradlater. I also chose these because i think that this might be a sign of foreshadowing to what might happen later in the book.

My question after reading this book is, Why does Holden think so violently with other people?

I would love to have some responses to my question.

Visions of Childhood

In the short stories that we have read, i feel like they depict adolescence well in a couple of them and not so well in the others. In Every Little Hurricane, i think that they show that some kids have to grow up faster than others and become more independent at a younger age. Victor had an alcoholic family and he was explaining the situation in vocab that a normal kid of his age would know. It also seems to me like in Sutton Pie Safe, it shows adolescence by showing a child that really doesn't understand the situation at hand and i feel like the father tries to teach him a lesson when he cuts up the snake. He wanted to show his son that he cant take things for granted. In Bottle Caps, it tries to show adolescence by having this kid that loves collecting bottle caps and has a hug collection of them. Almost everyone when they were younger had some type of collection or hobby. In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, it shows the more dangerous perception of adolescence. Connie is a girl that is snotty and narcissistic girl that eventually gets taken by a man named Arnold friend. I think that Connie though that she was untouchable in her own little world and this story showed that bad things can happen to you even though you may think that you are untouchable. A common theme that i saw throughout these stories is the theme of growing up. In most of the stories, the situation that the kids faced had to do with growing up or learning their lesson.

A movie that depicts childhood in an interesting way could be The Goonies. The story is about a kid and his family is going to have to move if they cant pay for their house. The kids then set off on a quest to find a hidden treasure that they believe exists so they can pay and so they don't have to move. Throughout the movie, they have to fight against another family that is also looking for the treasure. They have to grow with each other in order to find this treasure and make it out alive. I don't believe that any of the short stories that we read in class really match this movie. I recommend this movie to everyone.

My Childhood

One childhood memory is when I severely hurt my foot. My dad was using his welding torch to make a kick-stand for my bike. I want to make sure you know that this took place when i was probably 8 or 9. The story starts with me trying to find my dad and i didn't know where he was so i went to try to find him in one of our shops that we used to own. I walked over and being a young adolescent, i didn't wear any shoes. Once i found my dad, i wanted to know what he was doing so i walked over to him. While i walked over to him, i stepped on a piece of metal that my dad had just cut off with the welder. The metal i stepped on was so hot that it burned right through my skin and almost to the bone. I ended up getting 3rd degree burns on my foot and it would take months before i was able to walk again. I guess that the big picture of this story is that you have to make mistakes to learn things and i made one big mistake that day. I guarantee that i wont go barefoot in a shop again.

Intro Blog

My name is Cale Urso or I go by the name of Hammer/Hamsauce. I love to have a good time and hang out with my friends. I have a few interest like golf, video games, and working and Farm & Fleet. I also like doing mathletes. After high school i plan on going either to Edgewood College or MA too cool. My favorite movie is Grown Ups. My favorite book is Tell No One. My favorite musician is a tie between Alan Jackson and Kenney Chesney.