Controlled by the Government

Imagine what it would be like if the government had control over your life. Your mind. Your choices. And even your family. How would you cope both physically and mentally? This is how life worked In the books The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451. The government controlled everything and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

The government plays a huge role in the book The Hunger Games. Every year twenty-four kids, two from each district, are chosen by the government and are forced to battle each other until death. If you were chosen you had to go; there was no other option because this was the law of their government. 

The book Fahrenheit 451 is very similar compared to the book The Hunger Games when It narrows down to the government. No one is allowed to think. Things as simple as reading a book or taking a stroll in the street are prohibited.  People who are found doing such things are often sent to jail. If you are caught with books, the fire fighters will come to your home and burn them. The government doesn't want anyone to learn new things; they want everyone to remain clueless. This is how they are controlling the lives of the citizens. Fahrenheit 451 shows us that books are important and we do need them. We are nothing without them.

The books The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451 are very similar. They both share the same setting of living in a futuristic dystopian world.  In both books the government controls everyone and everything.

If our government controlled every part of us, like our minds, our world would be so messed up. After reading these books I'm glad to have my own opinions and being able to learn and seek intelligence.

Fahrenheit 451 Figurative Language Piece

Author's Note: In Language Arts class, our assignment was to choose and find a passage in  the book Fahrenheit 451 that has Figurative Language and describe what’s happening in the passage and what the tone, purpose and meaning is. Below is the passage I chose to write about. Enjoy.

"Book bombarded his shoulders, his arms , his upturned face. A book lit, almost obediently, like a white pigeon, in his hands, wings fluttering. In the dim, wavering light, a page hung open and it was like a snowy feather, the words delicately painted thereon. In all the rush and fervor, Montag had only an instant to read the line, but it blazed in his mind for the next minute as if stamped there with fiery steel. "Time has fallen asleep in the afternoon sunshine ." He dropped the book. Immediately, another fell into his arms." (page 37)

This particular passage involves a lot of symbolism. The books are like birds, they are both very delicate and both represent freedom. This passage is describing the scene where the firemen are burning down a house and Montag comes across books when the firemen are throwing them into the incinerator. The tone of this passage is curious and gives you an impression of happiness but you know there really isn't any there.

A Christmas Carol

Author's Note: For Language Arts Class we had to read the book "The Christmas Carol". After we read it we had to choose a passage and then address the tone, purpose and meaning of it in paragraph form. Please comment if you have any ideas on what to add or edit.

"This was not addressed to Scrooge, or to any one whom he could see, but it produced an immediate effect. For again Scrooge saw himself. He was older now, a man in the prime of life. His face had not the harsh and rigid lines of later years, but it had begun to wear the signs of care and avarice.  There was an eager, greedy, restless motion in the eye, which showed the passion that had taken root, and where the shadow of the growing tree would fall. " (44)

The tone of this passage is lonely and serious . The purpose of this passage is how Scrooge is overlooking  his older self. Scrooge looks back on his life and realizes it has gone to waste. He begins to notice that he's pushing people away. He slowly finds that his life is sad and lonely. I think the meaning of this passage is that you can't expect people to like you when you're  mean and nasty to them. You can't push people out of your life and think that you're life won't be lonely.

Character Analysis

        This summer Conrad Fisher has changed completely. He has rebelled against everyone and often comes home late at night after drinking. Everyone seems to notice his change, especially Belly.  She starts to worry about him more and more as the days go by. She loves him and wishes he loved her back. But she doesn't know how to help him. No one knows the reason behind his strange behavior.

         In the book The Summer I turned Pretty, Conrad Fisher is a dynamic character. He is a dynamic character because he changes behavior in the book. He used to be fun and outgoing but now he just keeps to himself. A lot of characters in this book are dynamic because the book is told throughout the years. In some chapters Belly tells stories from summers in the past. You can tell when reading those stories that a lot has changed.

Point of View

The book The Summer I turned Pretty is written in the point of view of Belly, a teenaged girl who is constantly looking for love. In this book she often states her opinions and emotions. She makes it sound like she's so innocent and that she should have the perfect boyfriend at her side. I'm not quite sure if I can believe her side of the stories she tells. I wish the author Jenny Han would've switched characters in some chapters so they can tell their own point of view like in "The Last Song". That would make the story more interesting. Some of the chapters in this book relate back to a different summer in the past and Belly explains a scene that happened in that summer, to give the reader some background knowledge.

This book would be very different if someone else was telling the story. Perhaps Jeremiah or Conrad. They would probably talk about what Belly means to them and how they feel about their mother, Susannah being sick or how they feel about their parents getting a divorce. It would also be different if Laurel, Belly's mom, was telling the story. Laurel would probably explain how it feels to have a best friend fighting against cancer and how she likes the beach house. She might also add that she's uncomfortable having Belly so interested in boys. The point of view is very important in a book. The story would change completely if it was in a different character's point of view.

Prediction

The book "The Summer I turned Pretty" has what every girl wants in a summer. Belly, the main character stays at the family beach house every summer with her brother, Steven, looking for a great time with her friends and family. This year her best friend Taylor Jewel is coming out to visit her. Susannah a loving caring mother of two boys is very close friends with Belly's mother Laurel. Belly seems to have very strong feelings towards Susannah's sons Jeremiah and Conrad. They are like brothers to her, and they've known each other since they were very little. They are practically part of the family. As the summers go by Belly develops more feelings for Conrad. She has a secret crush on him but is afraid to admit it. Although, he treats her like a little sister, always bossing her around and telling her what she can or cannot do.  She becomes slightly annoyed. But one night when she's invited to a bonfire everything changes for her and her love life. She meets Cam, a nice local boy that almost everyone knows. Belly and Cam are an example of love at first sight. Ever since they began talking at the bonfire they relationship has been great and Belly is starting to take her mind off of Conrad. Conrad, however, is not okay with it.

What's my prediction of what's going to happen next? I think that Belly and Cam are going to break up and her and Conrad are somehow going to get together. I think it will take some time but they will eventually both fall in love. I already know that Belly has strong feelings for Conrad she just doesn’t want to admit it yet. Conrad is jealous of Belly and Cam because I think he still cares for Belly. All of the summers in the past have led up to this. Them being together.

Life of Pi Essay

What would you do if you were stranded on a boat in the middle of the ocean? How would you survive physically and mentally? In the book Life of Pi, sixteen year old Pi Patel spends 227 days on a life boat in the Pacific Ocean. He is accompanied by a wild tiger named Richard Parker and runs into some strange animals like an orangutan, a zebra and even a hyena. He also encounters a blind man who wishes to eat him. But is he really surrounded by all of these animals? Is this blind man he's seeing a real person? Or is it just his imagination taking over his mind?

While Pi and Richard Parker sat there in the middle of the ocean all of a sudden a blind man hopped on their boat . I think that Pi and Richard Parker were partly blind when this man arrived. I don't think they were literally blind but I think because they were so exhausted, dehydrated and hungry that they weren't in a clear state of mind. As soon as the blind man tries to take a bite out of Pi, Richard Parker attacks him.

When I first read about the blind man I wasn't sure if he was a real person or simply just a dream or a thought. But now, after finishing the whole book I have a theory on the blind man. I believe that the blind man is a part of Pi. Almost as if he's Pi's conscience. Because of Pi's poor nutrition his imagination is taking over his mind. This explains why the blind man wanted to kill Pi.  He thinks that suicide is the only solution which is the part of him that is the blind man. 

There is a very large amount of symbolism in this book which can cause the reader confusion. While reading the book I didn't understand it until I finished and everything fell into place. The blind man, the island, and the animals all suddenly made sense.  This book was about survival. Pi had to rely on Richard Parker to protect him and keep him safe. At the beginning of the novel,  Pi was very scared and guarded with a wild tiger on his side. But as their journey on the boat continued they became closer and shared a deep trust.

You may disagree with me about the blind man and what he symbolizes. But my personal opinion is that the blind man is a part of Pi that wants to end his suffering, his subconscious. His lack of nutrition causes him confusion and he's mentally out of it. Pi's not literally blind, but his mind is blind, out of focus and confused. Which could happen to anyone under the same circumstances.