Romeo and Juliet

I do not like this book.
That's it. No more, no less. I just don't enjoy Shakespeare's most famous tragedy.
Maybe the reason I don't like Romeo and Juliet is because of the language and the writing style. Half the time he speaks in 3rd person, like an onlooker, but then he speaks from the point of view of Romeo and Benevolio. And then there's Emotional Romeo. He's such an whiner! And for a guy who's roughly 17, he's really talkative about his emotions.
I like Juliet though. She seems leveled headed and has her little priorities straight. I think she doesn't want to marry any time soon, especially to her cousin, COUNTY PARIS,  but she sort of agrees to because she's an obedient child. I don't like her Nurse either. She talks ways to much and clings to Juliet a lot. It almost seems like she wants to replace the image of Susan, her dead daughter, with Juliet.

The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail: Act Two

Irony, you say? Well, an aspects of irony I see in this part of the book is how Henry sees Bailey as this kind of genius, when he's really not. I think he just seems like a genius to Henry because he's so honest and simple. Like a child even. Since he's not so educated and have so many things clouding his thoughts, his reactions are pure and come from the heart. And I guess, in his own way, Bailey is a genius.

The main three characters I believe are Henry David, Bailey and John. I think these guys are pretty important to the story because they all influence Henry a bit. John's death deeply impacts Henry's view on the world, and Bailey sort of let's Henry just spew out all of his feelings and thoughts on him. Henry seems to really have an attachment with his brother, John, and by the end of the book, he has made one with Bailey too.

As for actors who would make good characters.......I don't know, really. For Henry, I sort of see the guy who plays Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia, James McAvoy. He seems like a wise person, but still young. For John, I think James Franco would fit the part. He also seems like someone's playful brother. As for dear Bailey, he's rather difficult to find an actor. The authors really don't dwell on what he looks like, but I imagines him being rather old, around his 30-40. So my conclusion is that Sean Penn would make a good Bailey, from around the era when he did 'I Am Sam'. Though he plays a father with development disabilities, sort of like that but not quite to the extent of him acting like a 7 year old. In the movie, Sean Penn does a great job of acting a simple and honest dad who just wants to be with his daughter, this sort of reminds me of how Bailey also seems honest and simple. He just wants to get out of jail, and calmly sits and listens to Henry talk.

I think in the end, Henry's protest didn't fulfill Henry's hopes and expectations. He seemed to expect an uproar, whether it was against him or with him. But people just turned their heads and didn't listen to him. Maybe if he had talked about his opinions sooner, there might of been more of a reaction. I mean, in the end, his aunt got him out of jail! So staying in jail for that time truly made him reflect on what he had done, and what he should do next.

A Perfect Day for Bananafish by J.D. Salinger

This was a.....twisted and confusing short story. At first I thought Seymour was going to be like Holden, but he just seems overly lost in his own world. Even more than Holden. I think Muriel seems more like rebellious Holden. She seemed young in the beginning but as she talked over the phone with her mother, she sounded older and older. This sort of reminds me of how Holden seems to want to act like a grown-up but at the same time acts like a kid.
They both don't want to come home, but in the end they both will have to. Holden because he promised Phoebe, and Muriel will probably go home because Seymour shot himself after coming from the beach.

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail

    "Don't just remember what I said. Remember what I'm talking about" 
                                                                                        -Henry David Thoreau


      As I sit here, typing this out and slurping on some lime Jell-O (delicious!) I think that Henry David must of been a man who wanted people to understand him more than anything. I think this quote demonstrates, or transcends, transcendentalism by showing how remembering opposed to actually knowing and understanding something are two separate things. When you understand something, you get the whole message, the content of what it is about. But when you simple remember, you could just be spewing out what you heard and not truly get the concept. This shows transcendentalism because transcendentalism is believing that everything is connected somehow. Maybe the way you view something once you get to understand what their talking about leads to thinking broader about the whole picture. Not just memorizing and repeating someones thoughts.

Catcher In the Rye: Chapters 7-12

I'm trying really, really hard to not read ahead in the book. I don't want to get mixed up with all the questions, although it would be really nice to finish the book already. Either way, the reading is coming along very nicely and I'm hoping the book gets better and better.

If you were Holden, and you had just been kicked out of school, where would you go? Why?
First things firsts. I would have a mini mental breakdown, possibly pace around and go crazy wondering how the heck I let myself be kicked out of school. Then mope around, telling myself that I am a failure. Then I would get really mad and want to punch something, but in the end go back to whimpering about what the heck to do. All of that, in order, on the same day.
But seriously, all joking put aside, I think I would just go outside for a walk and breath. Just breathe. That's one of Holden's problems. HE NEVER JUST STOPS AND BREATHES. He's always thinking about what to do next, he never looks back at the wreck he's left behind. And if he does think about him being kicked out, he doesn't take it seriously. Anyway, I would go outside and breath. Since he's in New York, I think I would go walk and breathe in Central Park. Putting one foot in front of the other should clear up my head and I should come up with a smart choice on what to do next. After some walking I would head back home. My parents would be very disappointed but family is family, and when you're at your worst, family is there to help you out.

Jane's character in the book is sort of nice to have. I think she remind Holden of happy times in the past when life wasn't so messed up. I wish Holden would of called her up, but what would he say? Either way, hopefully Holden gets to see Jane again. It would be nice to see how she thinks of Holden now.

"People are always ruining things for you."
Uhhh, yeah. People always ruin things for others. Maybe they don't mean it half the time(though some do) but plenty of people do it. Like when I ruined the illusion of Santa Claus for my little sister. Now, before I get so much hate, I was 9! Cut me some slack! I thought she knew that Santa wasn't real, so I happened to bring the subject up and it just came out. She was devastated. But now she knows the truth instead of living a lie. But enough of me sounding like the bad guy, I think people ruin things for us because they want to either 1) harm you or 2) make you see the truth. It sucks when something is ruined for you, but you move on and learn from it. At least that's what little sister did.

Catcher In the Rye: Chapters 1-6

Yes!! I've been dying to read this book. At first I was worried that it would be difficult to read, but it sort of reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Anyways, I'm really enjoying reading this book and hope the story will get better.  On to the questions!

What does it mean to be unique? 
I think being unique is hard. Honestly, you can't always find unique people, cuz' everyone is similar in some way. But being unique would mean that you don't change how you are for other people or for other reasons. Holden is very unique, I think. He doesn't seem to quite fit in with his roommates and friends, he doesn't stare at himself all day long like Stradlater or is openly rude like Ackley, but he sometimes acts like a little kid. Which is very unique among 16/17 year olds. Yet, he doesn't hide it. Which is good and very unique.

How do you keep individuality in a adult world? 
I think in order to stay yourself and be an individual person in the ADULT WORLD(scary isn't it?) you need to know yourself pretty well. Like, you need to keep true to yourself....does that make any sense? Try not to so influenced by your friends, and like/do things that you want to. I mean, it's not bad if you like a trend, but still act how YOU do, not how someone else is.


How is Allie's character similar to your favorite person?
Augh, this answer is so overdone but it's all I got. ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE (if by chance you're reading this Anita) is my little sister Karen. Allie, Holden's little brother that died, was apparently really smart. Well, so is Karen. Sometimes I feel like she older than me because she's so much smarter than me. Her way of reasoning is really different from other kids in her grade, and she's always getting remarkable marks from her teacher. Just like Allie. My sister sucks at sports (it must run in the family or something) so baseball is out, but she does have this wild, curly hair you can see from afar like Allie's bright red-ish hair. Overall, Karen does resemble Allie quite a bit. She's the type of kid who makes you laugh when you don't even feel like smiling. I think that's what Allie was to Holden. A beam light that made his gloomy days a little brighter.

                                                                                           

The Odyssey- Final Chapters

Oh, it has come to an end! The story that I hated with pure passion in the beginning had ended.

My last thoughts?

I totally saw the ending coming. I just knew Homer was going to end it like that. After all that Ulysses been through, he has to end up living, once again, with his family. It would just be cruel if he died in that end or something, so I think the ending is appropriate for this story. Plus, I can't come up with a better ending.

Also, I'm happy that Telly seems not as angry with the world like in the beginning. Maybe he changed? Yeah, probably. And Ulysses too. I don't think he changed completely changed, but he's not as arrogant and eager to challenge someone. He has matured. Except the part where he savagely killed the suitors. That was just too.......um...just too.......graphic. 

Now that the Odyssey is done, I think the only smart thing for me to do is read the Iliad. Yes, I know the Iliad takes place before the Odyssey, but I think it would be fun to see the back-story to it. And maybe find out a bit more about Ulysses, Achilles, Agamemnon and the other people who fought in the battle of Troy.

So...yes. I am done! :)