One thing that I really noticed and liked is the author's use of description throughout the book. He has a way of describing something so ordinary to us in a way that gives it a new light and can make you really visualize it. Well, at least it had that effect on me. For example, I really liked the part where he was describing nature as being a show. He says, "The stage is vast, the lighting is dramatic, the extras are innumerable, and the budget for special effects is absolutely unlimited." I personally would have never thought about nature in this way. It's very abstract yet it makes perfect sense! I like that a lot of Martel's descriptions are brand new and something I would have never thought of instead of a monotonous book repeating the boring facts and details that I'm already overly familiar with. Yes, I'm familiar with nature, but he was able to make me think about it in a new way and I like that a lot.
Another example of his detail that I really liked was when he was comparing the ocean beneath him to a busy city such as Tokyo. He called the fish cars and described the collisions, different shaped and colored vehicles, and the different "lanes" on the streets. Again, I never would have viewed the ocean as a giant highway or city but his description makes sense. In fact, that's exactly how the ocean functions so this description fits perfectly. His vivid detail and imagery put a solid picture in my mind.
One thing that stood out to me about the character Pi was his ability to notice and appreciate the little things in life, even in his time of struggle while trying to survive on the boat. Yes, he has his moments where he breaks down and realizes his situation doesn't look good, but he doesn't dwell on them. He makes himself notice the smaller things in life that most of us take for granted. He appreciates the fish, the ocean, the contrasting colors between the tiger and the boat, even his scarce food supply that he has. One example of this is in his description of the zebra on the boat. He talks about the artistic and perfect design and how the stripes on him seemed to glow brilliantly. He even talks about the way the zebras head looks and how lovely the animal is in general. I think zebras are cool, sure. But I've never spent that much time dwelling on the way they look and how it makes me feel. This definitely isn't a bad trait that Pi has, though. It's probably one of his best in my opinion. If I had the choice to be trapped in an elevator with a habitual pessimist or Pi, I would choose Pi because at least he can look on the bright side of things. Slowing down and taking the time to appreciate the world around you (even if its just ocean) is a good quality that not many people have and I like seeing this trait in Pi.
Earlier I mentioned the use of detail that I liked. There were some parts that grossed me out though. Examples: Pi peeing on the tarp, suggesting vomiting on the tarp, cutting/gutting the various animals (fish, turtles, etc.), the bloody zebra, the bloody hyena, the bloody orangutan. And I can only imagine what the bottom of that life boat looked like what with all the guts, feces, and water all over it. Eww. I especially gagged at the part where Pi describes the hyena and what it won't eat. Not much apparently. According to Pi a hyena will drink pee invested water, eat its kin, and even eat vehicles! YUM! Another part where I got a little weak stomached was when he was talking about drinking the turtles blood. I know that vampires/sucking blood and all that are really "in" right now but I don't do blood. I can't. The thought/smell/sight grosses me out. So reading about how he drank a pop bottle full of it really made me sick! It's hard to say because I'm not exactly stranded in the middle of the ocean currently, but if it came down to it, I would probably still have to pass on the turtle blood.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Current event 1
This past week two eastern Asian counties have attempted to launch a missile. North Korea and India. Korea's was unsuccessful, while india was busy showing the world they are not to be messed with. India launched their missile of an island south east of continental india. This launch proved to be much more successful than any other world power expected. This missile had the capabilities to carry 100 ton nuclear bomb and had the distance of possibly targeting main cities such as Beijing. China has firmly stated that they are in no sort of arms race with India, and consider them to be a much weaker power in the world.
I think that other countries such as india acquiring missile capabilities should be a type of wake up call to the united states. We are no longer the sole super power in he world and more are beginning to join our ranks. While we must not get in the way of India's business, I do believe that the UN should consider talking up some kind of treaty or agreement if none already exists. The United States should not be afraid or worry that India will ever interfere with our foreign policy, but rather be aware that south eastern asia will not always be at the bottom of the pyramid.
I think that other countries such as india acquiring missile capabilities should be a type of wake up call to the united states. We are no longer the sole super power in he world and more are beginning to join our ranks. While we must not get in the way of India's business, I do believe that the UN should consider talking up some kind of treaty or agreement if none already exists. The United States should not be afraid or worry that India will ever interfere with our foreign policy, but rather be aware that south eastern asia will not always be at the bottom of the pyramid.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Life of pie Part 1
The first part of this book is super slow. But, I kind of liked it in a weird way anyway. Even with all the random and confusing scientific sections and then the philosophical religious sections, I found myself enjoying it even though I didn't expect to.
I really liked this quote! I think I like it just because of the way he describes the two as working together in a way. Usually death is a negative thing, and here it still is, but it's less severe and seems to go together with life. I like how he makes death seem like it wishes to be as loved and enjoyed as life is.
One thing I realized in Chapter 3 is that while reading about the pool story, I completely forgot the relevancy of it and that he was using the story to explain where his name came from!
I really just liked the fact that all of the things that were discussed in this section just made sense to me. It was interesting yet at the same time I felt entertained and educated. I especially liked the part where he was talking about animals being "free" in the zoos. He says "If you went to a home, kicked down the door, chased the people who lived there into the street and said, "Go! You are free! Free as a bird! Go! Go!"--do you think they would shout and dance for joy? They wouldn't." It completely makes sense! Animals are adapted and secure in their environments just like we are in our homes and towns. People are afraid of change so it makes sense that animals would be too. So for animals, whether they are in the wild or a zoo, they will like what they're used to.
Another part of this book that I liked was how he related his nickname to a biblical thing. I liked how he used the different characters of the bible and compared his situation of getting his unfortunate nickname to that. I thought it was an interesting way to describe it.
One unexpected thing about this book was the sheer amount of religion that was involved in it. When I read the back of the book and realized he practiced 3 religions I assumed there would be some religion but I didn't expect quite this much. I kind of enjoy it though! He managed to incorporate religion in the most unexpected and creative places. It was very surprising! And not only did he talk a lot about religion but he was really in depth too. When he was talking about his Hinduism, I had a hard time keeping up because I'm not very familiar with the religion and his amount of knowledge on the subject was kind of intimidating!
So far it's been good. And if the first section is the most boring then I'm looking forward to what the rest of the book has to offer!
I really liked this quote! I think I like it just because of the way he describes the two as working together in a way. Usually death is a negative thing, and here it still is, but it's less severe and seems to go together with life. I like how he makes death seem like it wishes to be as loved and enjoyed as life is.
One thing I realized in Chapter 3 is that while reading about the pool story, I completely forgot the relevancy of it and that he was using the story to explain where his name came from!
I really just liked the fact that all of the things that were discussed in this section just made sense to me. It was interesting yet at the same time I felt entertained and educated. I especially liked the part where he was talking about animals being "free" in the zoos. He says "If you went to a home, kicked down the door, chased the people who lived there into the street and said, "Go! You are free! Free as a bird! Go! Go!"--do you think they would shout and dance for joy? They wouldn't." It completely makes sense! Animals are adapted and secure in their environments just like we are in our homes and towns. People are afraid of change so it makes sense that animals would be too. So for animals, whether they are in the wild or a zoo, they will like what they're used to.
Another part of this book that I liked was how he related his nickname to a biblical thing. I liked how he used the different characters of the bible and compared his situation of getting his unfortunate nickname to that. I thought it was an interesting way to describe it.
One unexpected thing about this book was the sheer amount of religion that was involved in it. When I read the back of the book and realized he practiced 3 religions I assumed there would be some religion but I didn't expect quite this much. I kind of enjoy it though! He managed to incorporate religion in the most unexpected and creative places. It was very surprising! And not only did he talk a lot about religion but he was really in depth too. When he was talking about his Hinduism, I had a hard time keeping up because I'm not very familiar with the religion and his amount of knowledge on the subject was kind of intimidating!
So far it's been good. And if the first section is the most boring then I'm looking forward to what the rest of the book has to offer!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Fahrenheit 451 last 2 sections
I hadn't really put two and two together before we talked about the women in this book and how they're complete opposite from the 50's until we talked about it today. But now that I look back on the book, the women seem completely unconcerned with any of the things we would think they should be concerned with: cooking, cleaning, tending to children, and loving their spouses. All of these seem to be the farthest things from their minds, especially loving their spouses. I personally think they could care less about their family and they make that pretty clear. The only "family" they actually like are the vicious, limb-chopping clowns that play in their parlors. Technology definitely overtook this society to a point of no return. Who needs companionship when you can just watch television all day long?
Montag's mind is a sieve. His sand is the Bible or any of the other books that he is trying to practically memorize because that's the only way he can really "keep" them. Just like when he was a kid and would try to fill his sieve with sand in order to get a dime, he just keeps filling and filling his mind with information only to find he can't retain any of it because of constant interruption of technology. If there had been less technology, he probably would have had a better outcome, but since the radio or the television are promised to always be background noise, he'll probably have a difficult time with this.
There really are a lot of Biblical references in this book. I'm not exactly sure why but maybe as I continue reading it will make more sense.
So Montag finally decided to do something to change his crazy world! I'm pretty happy about this because things need to be changed. It seems like the only people who are able to "feel" any more were Clarisse, Montag, and Faber. Luckily Faber has this master plan of attack to try and change things, I just hope Montag doesn't screw it up by going off the chain again like he did to Mildred and her friends.
Also, I'm not really sure why Mrs. Phelps cried after Montag read the poem. Did it just strike her close to home? Or did she just really hate it?
I think the things that bothered me the most about this section were the discussions between Mildred and her friends. First, Mrs. Phelps flat out said that if her husband died she wouldn't cry or worry, but she would move on with her life and on to her 4th marriage. This is way wrong! It's her husband and she acts as if he were a complete stranger. Secondly, I was bothered when they talked about politics, or at least their sense of the word. To them, it was all about voting for the guy that looked better, didn't pick his nose, and had an "attractive" name. If people really did vote like this in real life (which I'm sure appearance plays into it but not in the way they are treating it) then we would be in a pretty deep hole, I assume.
First off, I was super surprised when I realized that Beatty was going to burn Montag's house. I thought that Beatty liked Montag and understood what he was going through but I guess not. It sort of seemed like Beatty was actually enjoying making Montag burn his own house. Also, I was really surprised that Montag's own wife was the one that turned him in. This just goes to show again that maybe she really didn't love him after all. She was so opposed to being a team with Montag throughout the book. From the minute she found out Montag had books, she wanted nothing to do with him.
Two parts that really stood out to me and made me feel the kind of anxiety that I pictured Montag feeling at the time were the part where Montag is about to get hit by the car, and the part where everyone is about to open his or her door to look for Montag. The way Bradbury used the short sentences mixed with Montag's own thoughts made me feel what he was feeling. One example is: " 'At the count of ten now! One! Two!' He felt the city rise. 'Three!' He felt the city turn to its thousands of doors. Faster! Leg up, leg down!"
I really liked Montag's transition of thought when he realized the bums were using the fire to keep warm. This is the first part in the book where we see fire used to help rather than to hurt. In every other instance, fire is destructive, but here, fire is what's keeping these people alive. He realizes that fire can give as much as it can take and that's when I think he finally sees that everything will be all right. The fire serves as kind of a sign of hopefulness toward the future.
One thing that I thought about while reading the end of this book, was how different the world would be if there were no more books at all. There is so much history and literature that would be lost for future generations and I'm sure that this would greatly impact their attitude towards the world and the things of the world. I don't really read much, but if there weren't books, there would be so many things that I just wouldn't know and would have to just be okay with not knowing because there would be no way to find anything out.
I wish I knew what happened to Faber. I mean, obviously he probably died, but in a way I want to tell myself he didn't just because I liked him and his perspective on things. Hopefully Montag and the others that survived the "war" will be able to bring their internal books back to life in the coming generation. The bombing has given this society a clean slate to practically start over with and hopefully they take advantage of that.
The poem's significance is that It has to do with the relation to montag's situation. Because the poem has to do with loss of faith and montag has lost his faith in society.
Montag's mind is a sieve. His sand is the Bible or any of the other books that he is trying to practically memorize because that's the only way he can really "keep" them. Just like when he was a kid and would try to fill his sieve with sand in order to get a dime, he just keeps filling and filling his mind with information only to find he can't retain any of it because of constant interruption of technology. If there had been less technology, he probably would have had a better outcome, but since the radio or the television are promised to always be background noise, he'll probably have a difficult time with this.
There really are a lot of Biblical references in this book. I'm not exactly sure why but maybe as I continue reading it will make more sense.
So Montag finally decided to do something to change his crazy world! I'm pretty happy about this because things need to be changed. It seems like the only people who are able to "feel" any more were Clarisse, Montag, and Faber. Luckily Faber has this master plan of attack to try and change things, I just hope Montag doesn't screw it up by going off the chain again like he did to Mildred and her friends.
Also, I'm not really sure why Mrs. Phelps cried after Montag read the poem. Did it just strike her close to home? Or did she just really hate it?
I think the things that bothered me the most about this section were the discussions between Mildred and her friends. First, Mrs. Phelps flat out said that if her husband died she wouldn't cry or worry, but she would move on with her life and on to her 4th marriage. This is way wrong! It's her husband and she acts as if he were a complete stranger. Secondly, I was bothered when they talked about politics, or at least their sense of the word. To them, it was all about voting for the guy that looked better, didn't pick his nose, and had an "attractive" name. If people really did vote like this in real life (which I'm sure appearance plays into it but not in the way they are treating it) then we would be in a pretty deep hole, I assume.
First off, I was super surprised when I realized that Beatty was going to burn Montag's house. I thought that Beatty liked Montag and understood what he was going through but I guess not. It sort of seemed like Beatty was actually enjoying making Montag burn his own house. Also, I was really surprised that Montag's own wife was the one that turned him in. This just goes to show again that maybe she really didn't love him after all. She was so opposed to being a team with Montag throughout the book. From the minute she found out Montag had books, she wanted nothing to do with him.
Two parts that really stood out to me and made me feel the kind of anxiety that I pictured Montag feeling at the time were the part where Montag is about to get hit by the car, and the part where everyone is about to open his or her door to look for Montag. The way Bradbury used the short sentences mixed with Montag's own thoughts made me feel what he was feeling. One example is: " 'At the count of ten now! One! Two!' He felt the city rise. 'Three!' He felt the city turn to its thousands of doors. Faster! Leg up, leg down!"
I really liked Montag's transition of thought when he realized the bums were using the fire to keep warm. This is the first part in the book where we see fire used to help rather than to hurt. In every other instance, fire is destructive, but here, fire is what's keeping these people alive. He realizes that fire can give as much as it can take and that's when I think he finally sees that everything will be all right. The fire serves as kind of a sign of hopefulness toward the future.
One thing that I thought about while reading the end of this book, was how different the world would be if there were no more books at all. There is so much history and literature that would be lost for future generations and I'm sure that this would greatly impact their attitude towards the world and the things of the world. I don't really read much, but if there weren't books, there would be so many things that I just wouldn't know and would have to just be okay with not knowing because there would be no way to find anything out.
I wish I knew what happened to Faber. I mean, obviously he probably died, but in a way I want to tell myself he didn't just because I liked him and his perspective on things. Hopefully Montag and the others that survived the "war" will be able to bring their internal books back to life in the coming generation. The bombing has given this society a clean slate to practically start over with and hopefully they take advantage of that.
The poem's significance is that It has to do with the relation to montag's situation. Because the poem has to do with loss of faith and montag has lost his faith in society.
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