Journal #3

           First off, I cannot even imagine being held hostage.  I always hear stories of how people were taken from alley ways or at a bar.  Whenever I hear those stories, I get freaked out and run to my mommy and cry.  Well that is a lie...I do not run and cry but I do get scared and uneasy.  I never want to even put myself in the situation of being held captive but because I do, I will make it so it is less dreary.
           It was a sunny but rainy fall day.  I was walking in the San Jose Park when I spotted a DOUBLE RAINBOW!  Yes I just said double rainbow.  Looking at that masterpiece of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, just took my breath away.  As I was catching my breath, a hand clamps over my mouth.  I did what anyone else would do, I started kicking and flailing to try and escape.  Unfortunately my outrageously flailing arms and legs did not connect with any of my kidnappers body parts.  All of a sudden the whole world went BLACK.
           When I came too, I was in a place that looked familiar but I had never been to.  It looked like a living room but it had no windows.  I sat up to get a better look and when I turned around, I noticed that there was a lot of cameras and different equipment.  I decided to get up and explore.  When I rounded the corner, there was a person all made up in makeup and clothing.  I asked him what was going on and he told me that I was on a television show.  Hearing that surprised me because I got kidnapped in a park.  Without any warning, all these actors and actresses rush onto the set pulling me with them.  They put me into a dance outfit and covered my face in makeup.  The director of the set came up to me and said, "We kidnapped you and held you hostage because we saw you dance at a football game and wanted you to dance for our show." 

Mary Rowlandson and Anne Bradstreet

               Mary Rowlandson wrote about her life in captivity in her story, A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.  Mary, along with three of her children, was captured and taken by the Wampanoag Indians.  The group took twenty-four innocent people from this one area.  The twenty-four were out of the thirty-seven that stayed alive.  The other thirteen  people were wounded or killed by the Wampanoag warriors.  "There were twelve killed, some shot, some stabbed with their spears, some knocked down with their hatchets" ().  Mary was one of the lucky ones whose lives were spared.  She had a rough life in captivity with little to no food.  Food is such an important necessity in life which helps you to be able to function.  Luckily, Mary had vast knowledge of sewing and knitting, and to her advantage, probably was what kept her alive.  Her creations helped her to barter and get more food.  All throughout her captivity, she stayed true to her religion and never gave up on God.  In the end, Mary Rowlandson was rescued after around four months under the Wampanoag captivity when her husband, Reverend Joseph Rowlandson paid the ransom money.  
              In her story, Rowlandson talks about her relationship with God and how He was the one that kept her going.  In the first paragraph of the story, Mary includes two excerpts from the Bible.  "Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolation he has made in the earth" and "And I only am escaped alone to tell the news" (Rowlandson 82).  After reading those two verses, I knew that it was going to about God.  One other thing that I noticed, was that it would relate to the writings of the Puritans'.  
             The second work we had to read was “Upon the Burning of Our House” by Anne Bradstreet.  This poem was about her house burning down in the middle of the night.  Bradstreet was frightened by this event while she watched all of her personal belongings and her home burn to the ground and become piles of ashes.  Through this troubling disaster, Anne prayed and asked for his strength.  
               A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and “Upon the Burning of Our House” reflected some qualities of the Puritans' writings.  The Puritans' were very spiritual people and in whatever they wrote, God was a major part of it.  They believed that the Bible was made up of God's actual words.  The Puritans' liked their writing to be simple without beating around the bush using figures of speech.  Sometimes when told to read a story with figure's of speech, it can be hard to understand the first time you read it.  In both of these stories, they are easy to read because of the lack of figures of speech.  Most of the writings that were said to be by the Puritans' were diaries and personal stories.  In these works, the Puritan authors wrote about the works of God.  Both authors of the two works of art I read displayed these above qualities of the Puritans' writings. "But God was with me in a wonderful manner, carrying me along, and bearing up my spirit" (Rowlandson 83).  "And to my God my heart did cry to strengthen me in my distress" (Bradstreet 91).  

Field, Nancy. A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. Glencoe Literature American Literature: The Reader's Choice. [S.l.]: Glencoe Mcgraw-Hill Schoo, 2003. 82-85. Print.

Field, Nancy. "Upon the Burning of Our House." Glencoe Literature American Literature: The Reader's Choice. [S.l.]: Glencoe Mcgraw-Hill Schoo, 2003. 91. Print.

Journal #2

This story is a spin off the tortoise and the hare.  The original story was that the tortoise was challenged a to race by the hare and everyone knew that the hare would win because tortoises are like the slowest animals on the planet.  Once the race began, the hare darted in front of the tortoise and had a great lead.  The tortoise did not think he even had a chance to win but he did not give up and kept going.  The end of the race was finished when the tortoise crossed the finish line.  The hare had decided to take a nap because he had too much confidence in himself and he thought he had all the time in the world before the tortoise finished.  The reason of this fable being written was to show that you should always try when taking part in anything.  Never be too confident in yourself.

In my version of the story, the tortoise and the hare were great friends and decided to have a playful race.  Instead of the hare bolting forward in front of the tortoise, the hare stayed right along side of him and cheered him on.  The hare would say to the tortoise, "Come on buddy. You can do this.  I have faith in you." The hare stayed right next to the tortoise for the remainder of the race.  He even let the tortoise win.  Letting him win showed that he cared about the tortoise but also wanted to boost his confidence.  The tortoise went into the race knowing that he would not win because the hare was built to go much faster.  This right here is an example of showing hospitality and also respect.  Showing these two things will change how people view you.  If you are over confident like the hare, people will want to avoid you.  Having people avoid you is never something you want.  Showing hospitality will aid you in making life long friends. 

Journal #1

Once upon a time, there was an elephant named Virden.  He was a cute little fellow, but he had no trunk.  All the elephants around him in his parade has those long, swinging, masses of muscle attached to their faces right above their mouths.  Virden was stressed out to the point where all he wanted to do was sit under a tree and eat peanuts.  The only problem with eating peanuts, is that he cannot pick them up with his limbs.  If only he had a trunk...Virden decided to go and talk to the village's elder, who was the oldest elephant in their parade.  When he went up to Rosalinda, the elderly elephant, he asked her, "How do I get my trunk so I can fit in with the rest of my family and friends?"  Rosalinda replied, "You must complete a series of three tasks before you can earn your trunk."
The first task Virden had to complete was to climb up the mountain that was right behind where the parade was resting.  Virden had total confidence he could do that.  He climbed up the mountain and came back down within an hour.  First task completed.  The second task was to eat ten peanuts in a minute.  This task is going to be a difficult for Virden because he is lacking a trunk, but he completed the task by bending down and using his teeth.  The very last task was to lead the parade of his family and friends to the nearest water source.  Unfortunately, they were living in the middle of a drought.  Somehow, Virden led them to a huge oasis where they could bathe and drink the cold, fresh water.  Poof, Virden’s long, wrinkly trunk appeared right before his eyes.  He now fits in perfectly in his parade.  That is the story of how Virden the trunkless elephant battled through three tasks to earn his trunk!

MY LAST BLOG! (:

            This is my very LAST blog!! I am so excited to finish these things.  Writing blogs are a pain in the butt to have to do but I think it has helped my writing.  I am able to put my thoughts down on my computer without having to think too much.  This summer I have read four books, two of which were required while the other two were optional.  The books I read were: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck. 

My favorite book that I read was The Old Man and the Sea.  This is because I just love reading anything that Ernest Hemingway wrote.  He is such a fantastic writer.  Hemingway writes with enough description to be able to picture an image in your mind but not too much to the point that he loses you.  In some novels, the authors are so descriptive that it takes a whole paragraph to write about a rock.  I have to say I have not read about a descriptive paragraph on a rock, but I thought it was a good example.  I just felt that while I was reading The Old Man and the Sea I did not get lost and that I was able to understand it.  I hate when I read a book and I have to go back and try to understand what I just read.  I have had to do that before especially with Shakespeare. 

            I just wanted to say thank you to my English 332 teacher, Mr. Langley for having us read these books.  You have made me read the classics with a whole new attitude.  Plus I have been able to keep my brain from turning to mush from not being at school to learn.  Even though writing fifty blogs that were three and twenty-five words or more was a pain, I am glad that you chose for us to do that.  I am proud to say that I have finished my fiftieth blog and I still have two more days of summer left!! Yay me!  Farewell fellow bloggers! (: (:

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

The Moon is Down Favorites 2

            In my last blog, I was talking about my favorites of The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck.  I already mentioned my favorite quote but also my favorite character.  My favorite quote was, “If he considered God at all, he thought of Him as an old and honored general, retired and gray, living among remembered battles and putting wreaths on the graves of his lieutenants” (Steinbeck 20).  My favorite character was Alex Morden.  Now I will talk about my favorite scene and my favorite page in the novel. 

            Let us see, my favorite scene in The Moon is Down is when Annie, the cook, throws boiling water at the soldiers.  “From the doorway came the sound of an angry woman’s voice, and a thump and a man’s cry.  Joseph came scuttling through the door. ‘She’s thrown boiling water’, Joseph said.  ‘She is very angry’” (Steinbeck 17).  This actually made me laugh because in my mind I pictured a red haired, bigger lady chucking boiling water out the door and then shutting it real quickly.  Just thinking about it makes me chuckle.  If I was in her position where there were a bunch of Nazi soldiers standing right outside my door, I think I would do the same.  It would be scary to have someone outside you do not know, let alone a whole group. 

            Going along with this scene, my favorite page in The Moon is Down is definitely the same page with the above quote.  It is humorous and entertaining to hear about a grown woman throwing boiling water at people who are outside of her house.  Later down on the page, “’Was anyone hurt?’ Lanser asked. ‘Yes, sir, scaled, and one man bitten.  We are holding her, sir’” (Steinbeck 17).  Reading this line makes me giggle because I cannot help picturing Annie biting a soldier.  This was my favorite part along with throwing the boiling water throughout the whole novel!

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

The Moon is Down Favorites 1

            I officially completed all the questions I was required to answer for The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck.  I only have three more blogs left!! Once this one is done, I will only have two more to complete.  For this blog I am going to tell you my favorites about this novel.  This includes: favorite quote, favorite character, favorite scene, and favorite page in the novel. 

            First off, my favorite quote would have to be, “If he considered God at all, he thought of Him as an old and honored general, retired and gray, living among remembered battles and putting wreaths on the graves of his lieutenants” (Steinbeck 20).  Oh my goodness, I just love this quote so much.  One thing I find what I like most about it, is that is about God.  God is amazing and almighty.  He created John Steinbeck and gave him the gift of being an author, which led to The Moon is Down being written.  The Moon is Down is all about World War II so many, many people died because of fighting for their country.  God has fought in many wars trying to decide what our paths are going to be in life.  He is in Heaven with all the deceased soldiers who fought for their country and God makes sure that they are rewarded with great things. 

            I would have to say my favorite character would be Alexander Morden.  I chose him because he stood up for himself and took charge.  He was the one who killed Captain Bentick with a pick axe.  The target was Captain Loft.  Although Captain Bentick was not the target, Alex still felt good about his decision on which he killed.  He killed them because he was tired of working.  Captain Loft mentioned, “He shouted something about being a free man” (Steinbeck 33).  Alex Morden is a free man but not anymore because he was shot and killed as a punishment. 

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

The Moon is Down Question 8

In my opinion, The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck represents events in history very well.  The events that happened in the novel did not actually happen with the same people or town but most likely happened elsewhere.  Small towns in Europe were probably invaded by Nazi soldiers during World War II and innocent people were forced to do hard and treacherous work.  In my last blog I said I knew a lot about World War II because I have learned it each year in my history classes.  From what I have learned, the events in The Moon is Down are very accurate to what actually happened in real life. 

            The Nazi’s were cruel and messed up people and all they wanted was power.  This act was shown in John Steinbeck’s novel, The Moon is Down.  An example of this act of cruelty was when Alex Morden was given a death sentence after killing Captain Bentick with a pick axe because he wanted to quit his work.  A death sentence or “death penalty is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime” ().  This penalty is given in the United States of America but in the novel it happened differently.  Instead of killing Alex Morden in private, the Nazi’s shot him in front of the whole town.  That is something people do not need to see especially it is someone they know well.

There was one particular relationship in the novel and it was between the Nazi’s who were evil and the townspeople who were good.  The Nazi’s were evil because of a strict leader named Adolf Hitler.  Everything that happened in the Holocaust was his entire fault.  He killed millions of men, women and children.  How could someone live with that?  Anyway, back to the whole relationship thingy.  The Nazi’s scared the townspeople which gave them a source of power.  They made sure that they stayed in control and kept the townspeople scared of them. 

"Capital Punishment." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 14 Aug. 2012.

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

The Moon is Down Question 7

            When an author writes a book, they obviously want people to read it.  I know that if I wrote a book; wait a minute that would not happen. But if I did, I would want someone to buy it, read it, and enjoy my book.  I had to write a book when I was in third grade.  I think it was ten pages long and that included three-fourths of the page being a picture.  Just that short book was difficult to write because you have to think of something that someone else would be interested in reading.  That is the same for John Steinbeck.  He had to choose a topic people would like to read.  To help him get even more people to read The Moon is Down, he included a very important technique when writing a novel.  The technique is foreshadowing.  Foreshadowing is “to show or indicate beforehand; prefigure” (Foreshadowing). 

            At one point in the novel that showed foreshadowing was when a man named Alexander Morden got fed up with being controlled so he decided to try and kill Captain Loft.  Captain Loft stated, “I had some trouble about a recalcitrant miner who wanted to quit work” (Steinbeck 33).  This “miner” is Alex Morden.  Alex took his pick axe that he was using to mine and swung it at Captain Loft but instead of striking Loft, the pick axe struck and killed Captain Bentick.  Both of the captains happened to be Nazis.  Because someone was murdered, the man was given a death sentence.  Alex Morden was shot in the middle of town surrounded by all the people he knew.  Here comes the foreshadowing! John Steinbeck used this technique by showing the readers that once on person rebels against an enemy, more people get the courage to do the same.  This is exactly what occurred.  The townspeople became very upset that the Nazi’s killed one of their friends and tried to fight back.  I think that John Steinbeck did a very nice job. (:

"Foreshadowing." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2012. 

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

The Moon is Down Question 6

            One thing I have always remembered about history through all my years would be World War II.  Ever since kindergarten, I have had history and each year we learned about World War II.  In eighth grade, we did a whole unit on the Holocaust.  The Holocaust took place during World War II, where all the Jews were taken to concentration camps.  In the concentration camps, the people were tortured and put to work.  Millions of men, women, children, and infants died because of the harsh treatment and lack of food and water.  This section of the century was horrible and unforgettable.  I think that is why the teachers drill the information about it into our minds.  Everyone should know how sad that event in history was so it will hopefully never happen again.  The reason for that whole story of my past history lessons was because The Moon is Down took place somewhere in between 1939 and 1945.  In that span of seven years, millions of lives were taken but trillions of people’s lives were changed.  This information is important and needs to be taught in school to all children no matter what age.  Some of the more gruesome details can be left out for the younger children but they should know about Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. 

            Another reason why we read The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck is because the events that happened in the war were horrible but in some ways interesting.  We need to know the reasons why the war happened and why so many lives were taken.  History is my least favorite subject but whenever we start the unit on World War II, it moves up on my list of favorite subjects.  I find the topic so amusing but it also shows me that if I ever become a leader, I should never take the steps that Adolf Hitler took. 

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

The Moon is Down Question 5

            Question five states, “How does this novel reflect the history, behavior and social issues of the time period and setting?  What is this book’s symbolic and thematic significance?”  The Moon is Down was published in 1942, which happened while World War II was in progress.  This novel by John Steinbeck was based off of events that happened in World War II.  You are able to tell that it was set during this time because of the presence of Nazi soldiers that invade towns.  I think John Steinbeck did a very nice job describing events that happened in his novel even though people disagree with me.  Facts from World War II state that towns were invaded by Nazi soldiers and he people were forced to laborious work against their will.

            The main social issue that the people faced in The Moon is Down was betrayal.  This issue was not just a problem during that time period, but betrayal is still a concern to this day.  As I have said before, the town’s storekeeper, George Corell was a traitor and betrayed his own town.  He was a well-known and well-liked man but he threw all that respect away when he decided to be a spy for the Nazi army.  Mr. Corell was the person who helped with the invasion of his own town.  The soldiers enslaved his friends and possibly even family.  Mr. Corell was not the only spy in the town.  All over Europe there were hundreds of spies scattered around.  No one knew who to trust.  That would be a hard situation to be in because it gives you so much comfort to be able to know you have that one person who you can trust.  Imagine being in a town where you could not trust anyone because they secretly may be a spy.  I think I would become a paranoid mess if I was out into that footing.

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

The Moon is Down Question 4

            In a previous blog, I stated that in every novel there is a conflict.  That is true and so is that in every novel there is a hero and/or villain.  John Steinbeck wrote The Moon is Down so that there was a hero and a villain.  For this blog though, I am only going to talk about the hero.  Most of the time when you think about a hero it is usually one person.  A hero is “a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities; one who shows great courage” (Hero).  The typical qualities of a hero are: bravery, strength, courageousness, kindness and honesty.  When it says man, it does not mean it has to be a man.  It can be a woman also but it is just a common term when talking about a person. 

As I said before, a hero is usually one person.   The Moon is Down is set in a little town, which its name was not mentioned, and it was filled with many people.  Being filled with people is a pretty normal thing for a town.  The group of townspeople showed themselves and the Nazi’s that they would be brave and that they stand for the good side.  The bad side is the invading Nazi’s of course.  “’Captain Bentick was about to leave to come here when I had some trouble about a recalcitrant miner  who wanted to quit work. He shouted something about being a free man. When I ordered him to work, he rushed at me with his pick. Captain Bentick tried to interfere’” (Steinbeck 33).  This act of bravery made this townsperson a hero in my opinion.  Even though he killed someone, which is not okay, he did not feel that the Nazi was not a good person.  Not only were they brave, they had mental and emotional strength so that they would be the winners in the war.  It is just like when you are running a race.  While you are running, you have to have the leg strength to run, but you have to be strong in the mind so you do not give up.  Imagine being invaded by people who are strangers that force you to do laborious work.  It would be a challenge to stay calm and keep going on in life. 

"Hero." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2012. 

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

                                                                                                                                    

The Moon is Down Question 3

            The main theme in The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck is democracy.  I do not know how to word it myself so I looked it up online.  The definition of democracy is “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections” (Democracy).  In a shortened version of that, a democracy is a government in which there is someone in charge but the people have some say in what is decided. 

            In The Moon is Down, the little town was a democracy before it was invaded by the Nazi’s and then everything changed.  It actually became the exact opposite type of government.  The town became a dictatorship, which means that there is one and only one ruler that makes all the decisions.  The people have no say in the choices that the dictator makes.  The main thing I am trying to show is that the Nazi’s changed the town drastically.  The little town was happy, peaceful and democratic and then it became destroyed, rattled and over controlled by a dictator.  The townspeople were told that the invasion would go at a pace where they would be comfortable but what actually happened was a lot different than that.  One day the Nazi soldiers just invaded all at once and enslaved the people in this town.  They were forced to work in the coal mines.  Sadly, the people have to obey and do the work otherwise they would be severely punished.

            After reading the novel, you can see that John Steinbeck knows what he is talking about and has an idea of what is going on, especially in life.  He knows that life is full of changes, whether they are big or small, planned or unplanned.  John Steinbeck shows us that life is difficult and that the world is a cruel place.

"Democracy." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2012. 

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

The Moon is Down Question 2

            John Steinbeck wrote the novel, The Moon is Down.  It is about World War II and a town that was invaded by an opposing force.  Like every novel, this one has a conflict.  The conflict is the invasion in the small town, which we do not know where it is or what the name of it is.  “The town was occupied, the defenders defeated, and he war finished” (Steinbeck 3).  When this town was invaded, the townspeople did not know how to act and they were frightened.  One person that was especially uncomfortable with the invasion is the cook named Annie.  I feel so important because my name is in The Moon is Down.  There are soldiers outside of her house while she was trying to cook and live her life.  I would feel uneasy if just regular people were standing outside of my door but it would be even worse since they were soldiers.  Annie went and told Madame that she felt uncomfortable.  “Now the door on the right opened, and straw-haired, red-eyed Annie put an angry face into the doorway. ‘There’s soldiers on the back porch, Madame,’ she

said. ‘Just standing there’ (Steinbeck 13).  Even though she does not mention that she is uneasy, if you read between the lines you are able to see it.  When Annie got fed up with the soldiers outside her door, she threw boiling water outside and all over the men.  This probably was not the best method to get rid of people.

            Something that the townspeople learned from the invasion is that not all people can be trusted, especially the people in charge.  Their trust faltered because George Corell, the storekeeper, was a spy for the opposing side of the war.  He was the one who led the invasion and made all the uneasy and unkempt.  All in all, The Moon is Down  has causes, gains and losses of the conflict.

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

The Moon is Down Question 1

            The author of The Moon is Down is John Steinbeck.  The way he put down words on the paper, reveals his attitudes and values.  “Doctor Winter was a man so simple that only a profound man would know him as profound” (Steinbeck 4).  “Joseph was elderly and lean and serious, and his life was so complicated that only a profound man would know him to be simple” (Steinbeck 5).  These two lines really stood out to me.  They are opposites of each other, profound and simple and simple and profound.  Profound means deep and complete while simple means easy and not complicated.  What he is saying is that Doctor Winter is not a complicated man and only a deep thinking person would recognize him as a more intense person.  I think that this shows the readers that John Steinbeck carefully chooses his words and makes sure that it makes sense but stands out. 

            After reading The Moon is Down, I was able to determine some of John Steinbeck’s values.  The two that I chose were bravery and discipline.  I chose bravery because this novel is about a war and to be fighting in a war or just a bystander, you have to be brave.  You need to keep that brave face on and not give up on your country.  The other value I decided on was discipline.  If you are a soldier, you have to have discipline.  On the road to becoming part of the military, you have to go through tough training tht teaches them to listen to whoever is in charge.  My cousin is a Marine and he was rowdy and misbehaved before he went to boot camp.  After he came home, it was like he was a whole new person.  He treated anyone older than him with respect because he learned to respect who is in charge from the boot camp. 

            John Steinbeck wrote The Moon is Down in third person. 

Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down ; Cannery Row ; The Pearl ; East of Eden. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. Print.

Comparing The Old Man and the Sea and Fahrenheit 451

            In my last blog, I contrasted The Old Man and the Sea and Fahrenheit 451.  I decided to split the differences and similarities up because there is so many details to take in and this way after reading all the differences, you can digest what you read before you get the dose of similarities.

            One of the similarities that I felt stood out was that each of the main characters had a younger person to keep them grounded.  In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago has a younger boy named Manolin to help him carry his boat items but also to keep the old man alive.  “The old man carried the mast on his shoulder and the boy carried the wooden box with the coiled, hard-braided brown lines, the gaff and the harpoon with its shaft” (Hemingway 15).  While out at sea, Santiago could not stop thinking about Manolin back home.  “Then he said aloud, ‘I wish I had the boy.  To help me and to see this’” (Hemingway 48).  Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451 met a young woman named Clarisse McClellan.  “The autumn leaves blew over the moonlit pavement in such a way as to make the girl who was moving there seem fixed to a sliding walk, letting the motion of the wind and the leaves carry her forward. [...] The trees overhead made a great sound of letting down their dry rain” (Bradbury 5).  Bradbury used a whole paragraph where he described in depth of what Clarisse looked like at that moment.  When the going got tough in Guy Montag’s life, he thought about Clarisse. 

            Another similar detail in both novels is having that significant other in your life.  Santiago was married but his wife died years earlier.  He loved and enjoyed the presence of his wife.  Guy Montag is currently married to Mildred or Millie.  Although he loves her, he does not care about much about her. 

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Contrasting The Old Man and the Sea and Fahrenheit 451

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway can be compared and contrasted to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  I enjoy comparing novels because you get to see the different sides and views of how the authors write their books.  Each author has distinct writing styles along with how they feel about the words on paper.  As usual, I will start with the contrasting details. 

The biggest opposing detail in the two novels would be who wrote each novel.  Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea and Fahrenheit 451 was written by Ray Bradbury.  As an author, I felt that I made a stronger connection with Ernest Hemingway.  Through his descriptions about the marlin and the ocean, I was able to picture myself in the skiff with Santiago.  “He could picture the fish swimming in the water with his purple pectoral fins set wide as wings and the great erect tail slicing through the dark” (Hemingway 67).  In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago battles with a fifteen hundred pound marlin for three days out in the middle of the ocean.  Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451 struggles with turning against his job, which is to burn books, because he feels that those books are so important.  Another contrasting detail is how each author separates his thoughts in his novel.  Most authors piece their novel together with chapters, but Ernest Hemingway and Ray Bradbury decide to do their on thing.  Ernest Hemingway just put all of his ideas on paper and just had it as one continuous story.  I myself do not like that because I like being able to stop at the end of a chapter and digest what I just read.  On the other hand, Ray Bradbury divided his novel by having three separate parts to Fahrenheit 451.  Each title has its own symbolic title to each part.  I found that fact very entertaining. 

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Comparison of The Catcher in the Rye and Fahrenheit 451

            The three novels I have read are: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  I am now reading The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck.  In an earlier blog, I compared and contrasted The Old Man and the Sea and The Catcher in the Rye.  I am going to compare and contrast The Catcher in the Rye and Fahrenheit 451.  To help me with figuring out the similarities and differences, I drew a Venn diagram.  I used a Venn diagram for my last comparison between the two novels.  Up first are the differences! 

            For starters, each novel is written by a different author.  The Catcher in the Rye was written by J.D. Salinger, while Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451.  Getting into the actual text, as readers we are able to see the characters, writing styles, and plots.  In Fahrenheit 451 the main character is a middle-aged man who was a firefighter who burned books.  As for The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a teenager who has gotten kicked out of four different boarding schools.  The two authors have diverse writing styles.  Not just through the words they put down on paper but also the way they divide the novel.  Ray Bradbury divided his novel into three separate sections that each had a symbolic title.  J.D. Salinger went with the normal thing to do, which is to start new ideas with chapters every so often.  There are twenty-six chapters in The Catcher in the Rye. 

            When you have differences, you must have similarities.  In both novels, the readers are able to see vast amount of descriptions being used.  “Behind him he heard the  lawn sprinkling system jump up, filling the dark air with rain that fell gently and then with a steady pour all about, washing on the sidewalks and draining into the alley. He carried a few drops of this rain with him on his face” (Bradbury 136).  “They always looked mossy and awful, and he damn near made you sick if you saw him in the dining room with his mouth full of mashed potatoes and peas or something. Besides that, he had a lot of pimples. Not just on his forehead or his chin, like most guys, but all over his whole face” (Salinger 19). 

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.