Graphic Novels Are Books?!

    When I heard that we were going to read Persepolis in class, I wasn't too excited.  I don't know why, but I have never thought of graphic novels as being books.  I'm a pretty traditional reader, so I never thought that a classic book could be one made up of words and pictures.  I guess I've always figured that a book is meant for you to be able to picture and create a world in your imagination, not draw the pictures out for you!  Plus, with all of the pictures, doesn't it waste more paper?
    As I got my book and started flipping through the pages, I was thinking, "God, we've read some good books this quarter, why does Mr. Kunkle have to go and ruin it with this one?"  In short, I was a pretty negative-nelly about the whole situation, and I was really reluctant to open my book the first night.  I was surprised though when I actually got the courage to read the first page; it was kind of interesting!
    I can proudly say that I no longer hate graphic novels; they're actually kind of fun to read!  The pictures are really entertaining and the books read fast.  Plus, with all of the pictures, it helps keep my focus more.  I'm glad that Mr. Kunkle made us read a graphic novel because it makes people who are more "narrow-minded", like me in this case, to read something out of their "comfort zone".  (I was at loss for some better words there).
    To be honest, I really like the story of Persepolis, it's really interesting!  I love how this is pretty much an autobiography of the author's childhood.  It was such a creative idea to make it a graphic novel!  I like this book so much, that I'm not sure I want it to end.  Great choice Mr. Kunkle!

Jane and Rochester Heat Things Up ;)

    
     A major motif I noticed throughout Jane Eyre was fire!  Jane and Mr. Rochester's relationship seemed to be centered around fire.  When Mr. Rochester and Jane were first talking, they were sitting by a fireplace.  When Mr. Rochester’s bed was set on fire, which Jane helped put him out, is kind of where he realized that Jane was something special.  His eyes were “ablaze” when he was talking to her in the garden the night that he asked her to marry him, and soon after the chestnut tree they were standing next to was struck by lighting (or fire) and was burnt into two.  Then, Thornfield burnt down (with fire) and permanently harmed Rochester, but also freed him of his crazy wife; him and Jane could finally be together.  Lastly, the only thing that Rochester could see for two years of their marriage was the glow of the fireplace and the candle.  I don’t know, I just think that it is so cool that Charlotte Brontë kept this motif of fire all throughout their relationship…it’s too awesome!  Plus, Mr. Rochester is a very passionate and emotional man, so it is fitting for them to have fire as a motif for their relationship.

The "Wrongs and Rights" of Passage

    I totally agree with Sydney Cook's view on the American rites of passage.  Kids today are really materialistic and only define themselves as adults when they get that new car or are able to drink liquor.  It's kind of sad because teenagers in other countries have found sentimental and spiritual meaning in their transitions to adulthood, whereas Americans only care about the physical aspects.

    A typical rite of passage is marriage.  In other countries marriages are a big deal!  Every family and friend shows up to the reception and the party will sometimes last for days.  That is so amazing compared to wimpy American weddings.  In America people can legally be married at the courthouse or in a chapel in Las Vegas without their family or friends.  People here also complain A LOT about having to go to their aunt or uncle's wedding -- hello!  It's a happy celebration!  Marriages in other countries are also held a lot more sacred, meaning that they can't as easily get out of a marriage.  In America almost fifty percent of marriages fail.  There's something wrong with that in my opinion.

    A rite of passage that I believe I have almost completed is being able to make my own opinions and beliefs.  I have always been good at looking at both sides of the story and figuring out what I believe is right, but one thing that I haven't always been good at is sticking to my opinion.  I kind of let people talk over me and influence what I think.  Within the last year though, I have noticed how I tend to stick to what I think is right, and how I've actually started standing up for it too.  I think being able to form and keep your opinions shows mental and social maturity, and that it is also an essential skill to have while entering adulthood.

Blogs.

    Every week we're supposed to write a "free blog" or a "choice blog".  Well, I'm having a hard time coming up with a topic, so I decided to blog about...blogs!
    I understand why we're doing this; it's to help us with our writing skills right?!  Well, in my opinion, this whole things seems a bit tedious.  I just want to know why, in every class we take now, we have to do all of this extra writing.  In gym we even have do extra writing!  Were our standardized testing scores really that low?
    Well, whatever the reason is, I guess it's not really a bad thing to have us write more, it can only help us.  We need to be good writers for college so this is a pretty good idea I suppose.
    To be honest, I actually don't mind blogging.  I like the different blogs that my classmates write, and it's fun to see the pictures and videos they chose to add.  I just wish I had a better imagination because that would make blogging a lot easier!


<----  This is super cheesy, but I like it (:

Reactions to Jane Eyre

    So far I actually really like this book.  It's a pain to read but I like the challenge of it!

    If I were in Jane's shoes, I would still have left Rochester.  I know that it was hard for her to do that, but it was the right thing to do.  Rochester was already married so it would have been really frowned upon in those days if she stayed with him, and Jane may have even been sent to death.

    I really like the complex story lines and how risky they were in those days.  The thing that I don't like about the book is how long the descriptions are.  I know that that adds a lot to the story and helps "set the mood", but reading them just got really tedious after a while.  Another thing that doesn't really work for me is how long Rochester talks.  He talks so much, it's annoying!

    I think that this book should be taught in College Lit.  The overall theme of all the works that we have been reading has been Coming of Age, and this book, in my opinion, totally fits in.  We get to experience what life is like for a plain, little orphan and how she makes the best of it as she grows older.  Plus, it is more of an advanced read and gets us ready for college level literature.  I think it is a good choice!

Inner Beauty vs. Outer Beauty

Requirements for Outer Beauty Today:
- spray tan
- long, straight, blonde/dark brown hair
- size zero, Hollister jeans
- a low cut shirt to show off your boobies (or lack there of)
- ditsy personality
- crude language

Requirements for Inner Beauty Today:
- show compassion and niceness towards everyone
- open your mind to different ideas

    Today in class we were talking about physical beauty and how women are different now than they were in the Victorian times.  To be honest, I really hated that powerpoint activity, but it actually got me thinking.  I started thinking about what we, as Americans, view as beautiful and what little girls model themselves after.  Is it bad that my mind immediately thought of Jersey Shore?  I mean, any one of those women can fit those stereotypes stated above in the outer beauty column. 
    It makes me sad how much we value looks over morals now.  Most of the celebrities that the little or pre-teen girls pay attention to are terrible rolemodels (and kind of terrible people).  I mean look at Miley Cyrus, Paris Hilton, and for god's sake look at Snooki!  These are some of the most popular women in our country and all of them aren't worth looking at twice.
    My challenge is for anyone who reads this, granted not many people will, is to look at and think about yourself...are you materialistic and petty, or are you willing to open your mind to others and be a friend to your peers.  I know I've made my choice, what's yours?

Harry: a New Version of Jane

    As I was reading the first few chapters of Jane Eyre, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between Jane and Harry Potter.  For instance; both of them have unloving families, both of their parents are deceased, and both of them don't have any other family...that they know of.

    In Jane Eyre John, her cousin, is constantly physically and mentally abusing Jane.  At one point John had said,  "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependant, mamma says, you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen's children like us, and eat the same meals we do, and wear clothes at our mamma's expense."  John continues on to throw a book at Jane which cut her forehead open.  In Harry's life Dudley is basically doing the same thing.  Dudley is always talking and acting like he is superior to Harry.  (Dudley is also quite whiny and tempermental like John)  Plus, Dudley and his gang of hooligans always beat up on Harry at school or at the Dursley's house.

    Second, Aunt Petunia and Mrs. Reed are almost identical.  They both believe that their children are angels, they are very bossy and snotty, and they both treat their niece or nephew like garbage.  They are just all around terrible women.

    Another, very obvious comparison between Jane Eyre and Harry Potter is that they are both orphans.  Sure, Jane's parents weren't blasted apart by the most evil wizard in the world, but they too had pretty nasty deaths.

    Lastly, both Jane and Harry are sent off to some sort of boarding school; Jane went to a plain, religious school, and Harry attended Hogwarts where he learned how to brew potions and cast spells -- not much of a difference right?!

    Over the last few days of reading, I could not believe how many similarities there were between these two books!  It's almost overwhelming!  I think I know where J.K. Rowling got her inspiration...

Inspirational Speeches

    This week in class, we watched a motivational speech, and it kind of reminded me of the speeches in The Legend of Bagger Vance.  This movie is really good, and even if someone doesn't golf, they can still find meaning in them.  I would have to say that this is definitely one of my favorite movies to date.
    The Legend of Bagger Vance is about Rannulph Junuh, a professional golfer played by Matt Damon, who had everything going for him and then was deployed to Europe in World War I.  When he came home, no one seen or heard from him again.  He just disappeared.  No one knew if he lived or died.  
    Years later Junuh's ex-girlfriend Adele Invergordon was hosting "the greatest golf tournament in the world" at the golf course that she and her father had built in Savannah, Georgia.  The tournament was going to be played between Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones (two of the most electrifying golfers of the time), and Savannah's own Rannulph Junuh -- the problem was, they had to find him and then convince him to play, which was no easy feet.
    After a few days and lots of yelling, Junuh had agreed to give it a try, but it was harder than he remembered.  Junuh had lost his swing -- that might not mean much to you if you're not a golfer, but to a golfer, that's everything.
    One night Bagger Vance, a traveler played by Will Smith, had walked in on Junuh practicing and offered to be his caddie.  He only requested one thing of Junuh: five dollars guaranteed.  It turned out that Bagger Vance wasn't just a caddie, he was the person that Junuh had been looking for since he came home from the war, he was the voice of reason.  

    I can honestly say that I'm not easily moved by movies, and I don't get very emotional watching them, but Bagger Vance has a way of making even us, the viewers, feel and understand what he is saying.  If you get the chance, rent this movie.  You won't regret it!

  

Disney = God's Gift to Man

       When I was reading the Bottle Caps story, the main character reminded me of myself.  When I was a child, I would collect anything and everything, but my biggest collection by far was my Disney videos.  Ever since I was little, I have been in love with anything made by Walt Disney.  It is safe to say that I own almost every Disney movie known to man -- with the exception of four.
    I remember when I was little, I had to watch Cinderella AT LEAST three times a day.  It was crazy!  Even now as a teenager, I still have to watch my nightly movie!  It was Sleeping Beauty last night by the way...it's okay, I know I'm just a little obsessed.  
    It amazes me how a little thing that your parents introduced you to when you were small can stick with you your whole life.  I can honestly say that without my parents, I would have never gotten into Disney movies like I have.  So thank you Mom and Dad, thank you!

Holden's Loneliness

    "While I was laying there trying not to think, I heard old Stradlater come back from the can and go in our room.  You could hear him putting away his crumby toilet articles and all, and opening the window.  He was a fresh-air fiend.  Then, a while later, he turned off the light.  He didn't even look to see where I was at. 
    "It was even depressing out in the street.  You couldn't even hear any cars anymore.  I got feeling so lonesome and rotten, I even felt like waking Ackley up."

    I chose this excerpt because I think that everyone can relate to this at some point in their lives.  Everyone, I'm assuming, knows how it feels to be lonely and knows how this feeling can eat away at you.

    In my opinion, I think that Salinger was trying to show that even the people who seem to be all together, or the people who don't really give a crap, can still feel sad or lonely sometimes.  I guess he's trying to show that it's not always what's on the outside, you really need to get to know a person to know what they are truly like.

One question that I had while reading this was, if Ackley bothers Holden so much, why does he go over to Ackley's room when he is in need of a friend?

Literature's Depiction of Childhood

    In all of the short stories that we've read, childhood has been a huge theme.  Most of the stories described or presented the adolescents as innocent and naive.  It isn't a bad thing that the children are presented in that way, they're just kids so they can't really help it; they haven't had that much "life" experience yet.  Another common theme I noticed was that all of the characters were stuck in difficult and emotional situations.  Victor had to witness his parents and friends getting drunk and trying to wash their troubles away with alcohol, Cates observed his father flip out towards his mother and a guest (which might not be that much of a stranger at all...), and Connie, well Connie was about to be abducted and possibly murdered.
    There were also differences too.  One of the biggest ones was the characters in the story To Esme With Love and Squalor and the characters in the rest of the stories.  Maybe it was just me, but I didn't feel that this should be included in the packet.  They presented Esme as highly intelligent and snobby.  I guess Connie was kind of snobby too, but I hope you understand what I mean.  I just didn't really see this story as a "coming of age" lesson, it was just a story about a thirteen-year-old girl hitting on an American soldier.

   Some movies that demonstrate adolescents in an interesting way, if you couldn't have guessed from the background of my blog, are Disney movies.  One of the best "coming of age" Disney movies is Peter Pan.  The entire plot of this movie is about the decision between being a child forever or growing up.  At the beginning Wendy's father Mr. Darling tells Wendy that it is time for her to grow up and move out of the nursery, which she shares with her brothers John and Michael.  Soon after, Peter arrives and whisks the children off to Neverland where they are never allowed to grow up!  It's every child's dream!  After meeting the mermaids, learning about the "red-men", and fighting Captain Hook, the time comes for Wendy and the boys to go home.  This disturbed Peter a little because he couldn't understand why anyone would willingly grow up.
    What I had gotten out of this classic tale, was that girls naturally grow up faster, it's in their nature, where as boys tend to be more immature.  I mean, when you look at the main characters of Neverland, they're all male -- Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, and even Captain Hook himself.  It's not a bad thing, but I just noticed how Wendy was a lot more motherly and refined compared to the others.  It is really a good story; I love it!

The Middle Grandchild is ALWAYS Forgotten...

    Christmas, I would assume, is every child's favorite time of the year.  There are presents, cookies, and of course, Santa Clause.  I always loved Christmas; mainly because I'm an only child, and my parents would spoil me.  As I think back, one Christmas stands out specifically...


    In our family we alternate who hosts Christmas and this particular year my aunt Dee Dee was hosting it.  I remember being so excited and full of anticipation as my parents and I stepped into the party.  As soon as we opened the door a burst of laughter and music almost knocked me over.  
    "This is going to be a good haul," I thought to myself as I looked at all of the dazzling presents under the tree; they were all so sparkly and some of them were MINE!
   After we devoured the Christmas ham and cheesy potatoes (classy right?!), all seventeen of us finally gathered around the tree, and my excitement was building!  One by one my cousin Amanda handed out the presents - first to my cousin Brooke, second to my uncle Dan, and so on - and I watched as each one was handed off to someone else.  
   "Okay, mine are just all in the back," I reassured myself as the pile was growing thinner, "they couldn't have forgotten me; just calm down"
   Pretty soon I looked around at all arms flailing about trying to tear off his or her wrapping paper as fast as possible; except my arms weren't flailing of course, I had been forgotten.  As I felt a tear come to my eye, my cousin Amanda laid the last present on my lap.  It was a gift bag.  A wave of relief swept over me, and I frantically ripped out the tissue paper and lifted my gift out of the bag.
   "This is it?!  This is what I've waited twelve months for?!" I thought to myself as I stared at my gift.  It was a five dollar gift card to Culver's and a dancing monkey.  What the poop...

About Me!

Howdy!

I'm Halle, as you may have guessed, and I like drinking pina coladas and getting caught in the rain; no, not really, I'm just kidding.  I do like long walks on the beach...

Something that I really love to do is golf; I absolutely love it!  I also enjoy coloring.  One is never too old to color!  When I am not coloring or golfing, I enjoy watching the Badger basketball team or any of my one hundred plus Disney movies.

I am currently a junior so I haven't applied for colleges yet, but I hope to get accepted to the University of Wisconsin - Madison.  It is such a great school!  Another place that I would really love to go if I could get in would be the University of Chicago.  It is one of the best schools in the nation!

One of my favorite books of all time is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Sure I just finished it, but I fell in love with this book.  I can see now why it is a classic.  Classics are my favorite to read, I mean, they're still around for a reason right?  So why not read them!  To be honest, I am very excited to read Jane Eyre.