Final Soloist

After completing the Soloist, I found it to be one of the most interesting books that I have ever read. The way that this story was told was what drew me in the most. It was about the real events that seemed like fiction that I think always kept me off balance. What puzzled me the most was that Lopez stayed true to his commitment to Nathaniel despite their unlikely friendship. When you look at how far Nathaniel has come from playing that broken, two string violin on the sidewalk across from a statue of Beethoven, you can see how much work Lopez has put in and how effective his help was to Nathaniel's life. It's amazing how far two people can come from just a few newspaper articles. It's great to see someone in our twisted country who pushes so hard for someone else without anything in return. Lopez sees and understands Nathaniel's ongoing condition and doesn't expect any more out of him then he can easily handle. I think that "The Soloist" was a great book and a good choice to follow up all of our other selections and finish off the year. Hopefully my summer reading choices will compliment this awesome book and lead me into next year on a good foot.

Focus: Was this a good final post? Or could I have done better?

The Soloist 13-22

As the story progresses on, the story of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers is becoming more and more known around city and the country. Lopez's writings about skid row have caused the mayor to take interest in some unknown issues going on there. People keep trying to help Ayers and get him off of the streets, but he refuses to leave his "home" on skid row. I think that Lopez's exposure of Nathaniel can be both unfair yet still beneficial. It can be unfair because now that Ayers is well known, there are people everywhere trying to help him, which can be dangerous due to his mental condition. It can also be beneficial because Ayers has loved to play music through his whole life but was crippled by his terrible disease and Lopez might be the key to helping him overcome it. The one thing that puzzles me the most is why Nathaniel's sister won't take him and and take care of her brother. I guess Nathaniel's love of the outdoors and his desire for freedom has kept him from living in a normal environment with a roof over his head and good meals every day. Nathaniel's mind is truly unpredictable and i wonder where he will go next on his journey with Steve Lopez.

Focus: Does anyone have some answers for me? What should I do to improve my next post?

The Soloist 7-12

Chapters 7-12 provided some help to my unanswered questions about the first half dozen chapters. They went into more detail about Steve and Nathaniel's unique friendship that helped me to better understand the reasons behind it. Lopez wanted to learn more and more about Nathaniel (as did I) and even spent a night with him on the streets to see what it was like. As Lopez tries and tries to persuade Ayers into moving to somewhere a little safer than skid row, he notices how controlling his schizophrenia can be. Despite the fact that Ayers is reluctant to some of Steve's ideas, Lopez is determined to make things right for this promising violinist who was impaired by mental disorder and left with nothing but a shopping cart full of his belongings. When Steve tries to help Nathaniel get things out of the cart so that they can sleep, he is struck by the fact that Nathaniel keeps everything in that cart in order and can find whatever he is looking for in that organized mess that he carries around with him. Lopez starts to get more serious about Nathaniel and tries to get some gigs for Nathaniel to get started with on his road to excellence. Hopefully the rest of the story will be as interesting and compelling as these first 12 chapters have been.

Focus: Was this a good follow up to my previous post? What do you think i could have done differently to make this post more effective?

The Soloist 1-6

The first six chapters of the Soloist have been very interesting. First off, not many stories I've encountered have focused primarily on a homeless person, but "The Soloist's" Nathaniel Anthony Ayers is the reason this story was written. Lopez passes Nathaniel one day on his way to work, and both of their lives are changed forever. An unusual friendship, Nathaniel and Lopez both are unsure what to expect from the other. Lopez is looking at Nathaniel as another column in the LA times, but you can tell there's something more than just business between these two. I think Nathaniel is also unsure why Steve is so interested in him. I mean, why would some famous columnist care about a homeless violinist in the middle of Los Angeles? But Lopez isn't just your average guy, he notices the brilliance in Nathaniel's playing and tries to help him. I have some question as to why Lopez takes time out of his own life to get Ayers new violins and cellos, but i think he just does it all out of the kindness of his heart and feels that Nathaniel can be something great. As the story progresses on, I'd like to find out why Steve stays in this friendship if he is always giving to Nathaniel and not benefiting from anything.

Focus: Is anyone else skeptical as to why Steve even bothers to deal with Nathaniel? I mean I understand that it's the right thing to do and all, but why does Lopez show such interest and passion in helping this troubled violinist if he doesn't even have any interest in classical music?

Catcher in the Rye

When I heard we would be reading "Catcher in the Rye", at first I did not know what to expect. The title of the book didn't make much sense to me, so i sought to find out what the book was really about from the second i opened it. I soon discovered it was about a teenager named Holden Caulfield, who can't seem to stay in one school for very long. He is very judgmental and thinks that he is better than everyone else. The story takes us through many different journeys and events in Holden's life, and gives us extreme details on his views on others. I still had some question as to why the title was what it is, but that was revealed when Holden heard the child singing, which to me was a poor excuse for a reason of a title. I think Salinger does a great job of going into detail and depicting the thoughts and feelings that Holden experiences in the situations shown in the book. After finishing the story, I noticed some character traits and habits that Holden has. He always seems to be uncertain and can never make up his mind. He has his heart set on doing something but then right before he does it, he backs out and finds an alternative. Holden also tends to be depressed and sad a lot. I think this trait is directly connected with his overall judging of people which kind of controls him. In all, I think Holden Caulfield was an interesting character throughout the book and his attitude seems to shift at the end to one of optimism and hope about his future.

Focus: I was trying not to revert to plot summary at all because I don't think that an essay full of recounting events is any good. Did I accomplish my goal?

The Death of a Salesman

After reading "The Death of a Salesman", I tried to compare it to "The Great Gatsby", and came some similarites and some differences. First off, both stories had alot to do with the American economy in the early 1900s. Both Gatsby and Willy Lowman have high expectations on their lives and try to be very successful. I don't think that either of them really obtained happiness although they both tried so hard. Willy wanted to have a nice house with his family, be a successful business man, and wanted Biff to succeed and be something great, but his house was full of half-finished jobs and he cheated on his wife. He was also dissappointed with Biff because he did not live up to his father's high expectations. Gatsby also did not get what he wanted. Although Gatsby was rich and successful, what he really desired was to be with Daisy, which never happened. I also found that the writing styles of Arthur Miller and Fitzgerald were similar as well. In both stories, there was a main character in which the book was about, but it was kind of more focused around another character who impacted the lives of the main character. In "The Great Gatsby", the story is about Jay but is really focused around Nick. "The Death of a Salesman" is alot like this. Willy is the main character whom the story was about, but it was highly impacted by and focused around Biff too. Both stories were similar in that the main characters were dissappointed with events or actions in their lives, and both of them ended up dieing in the end. In conclusion, I think both of these novels were great and look forward to continuing our readings to see what's next.

Focus: What do you think of my analysis? Do you agree/disagree with some of the things i said? Was my analysis effective to you?

Blogger

Throughout the last quarter we started to use blogger instead of google groups. I think this was a great switch because there are so many different things that you can do with blogger. You can upload pictures, videos, edit your work, and have a list of friends. It is also easier that you just post your work on your own page rather than replying to someone else's post. For example, if i was writing a post and was unsure about something, i could go right to Anthony's blog to see what he said and it could possibly help me out. In all i think that Blogger and all of its' many functions is a huge jump from the standard google group.

The Great Gatsby

Ok, so I just finished up "The Great Gatsby" about ten minutes ago and now that it's done I'm glad to have read it. First off, I think that it was a great story and was very well written and told. However, there were some questions that I had in mind that I felt were left unanswered. Most importantly, the title. What was it about Jay Gatsby that made him so great? I dont think there were any specific actions or accomplishments that rewarded him with the title of "great". The only explanation that I could come up with was that he was considered great through the perspectives of those around him. Nick for example, has kind of an up and down relationship with him throughout the book, where he seems to admire him and look up to him. As the story progresses towards the end, Nick sort of turns away from him yet still shows his admiration and respect towards him. Nick realizes that Jay has a good life even though he doesn't always agree with some of his actions. Another thing that I have noticed after completing this book was the importance of the time period that Fitzgerald uses in his story. In today's economy, no one can just get all that money so easily just through inheriting it without anyone knowing, so the lack of intelligence to those present in the story is crucial to the development of the plot. Back in the 1920s the technology was far less advanced and if this story were to exist in the 2000s, it probably would hav taken many other twists and turns until it became a completely different story. The last thing that stuck out to me was how Fitzgerald used different crimes to express the consequences of living life without morals or laws. He shows all kinds of drinking and gambling in all of the luxurious parties that Gatsby threw and in his relationships with the bookies. The death of Myrtle also shows some murder and killing. All in all, I think Fitzgerald combined all of these elements and created a phenominal story that was a pleasure to read for me and hopefully for my classmates as well.

The Great Gatsby Journal

In my recent readings of "The Great Gatsby", I have notice many different things about the author, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, and some of the main characters, Nick and Jay. First of all, in opening the novel with a quote, Fitzgerald establishes a background idea for the story to be based upon. Throughout the story, that quote is pondered upon and referred to because of its position and importance in the book. Fitzgerald also seems to be hiding some traits and other things that his characters posess to later be revealed in the story. For example, it seems to me like Nick isn't very happy and is somewhat lonely and in need of a partner. Fitzgerald seems to be very shady about Jay, making him a character who is extremely wealthy with no explanation for it but that he has inherited it all. I think as the story further unfolds, these characters and that opening quote will be deeper and more thoroughly explained in this interesting novel.

Poetry Supermarket

http://www.dunbarsite.org/gallery/TheDebt.asp

http://www.dunbarsite.org/gallery/Life.asp

The poet that I have explored over the past few days was Paul Lawrence Dunbar. He is a great American poet who published many famous works throughout his career. The two poems that I focused on were "The Debt" and "Life". I think that the two poems were very similar in construction and in meaning. Both were short, deep poems that dealt with life and some of the obstacles faced during it. In "The Debt", Dunbar seems to be describing the consequences of a small action that he performed in his own life, such as cheating on the woman he loved or something along those lines. His intentions seem to show how sometimes even if you think your actions only have a small consequence, it can grow into something that will effect you until you die. In "Life", Dunbar expresses how some Americans had to live and the ways their lives went. He shows like an optimist's outlook on life compared to a pessimist's outlook on life. His styles reflect America in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He discusses some of the issues that people in America face on a daily basis. I think this is what gives him his distinctive American style.

American Realism

Over the past couple of days, i have read a few different pieces written by Mark Twain. I was expecting another boring story about people's outlook on nature, but was relieved after reading some of his works. Both his style and his stories differ from that of the American romantic authors, and I think that it puts him above them all and gives his stories a different twist from what is expected from other authors of his type. Most of them focus in on nature and how people react to it, but Twain is more realistic and goes into peoples' problems in daily life. His stories are far more interesting to me because instead of going on and on about his outlook on nature, Twain discusses the real issues and other things that people really experience. His writings aren't so much of him just describing his surroundings, but he goes into detail about his feelings and opinions on the entire situation.

Mark's stories all seem to have a life lesson or moral behind them which he expresses through examples on the little boys. The good boy goes through life trying to help people and do good deeds so that he can reap the benefits from it. Twain is obviously showing his opinions on the reason's people do things. If things are done for the wrong reasons, then the outcome might not always be as desired. But if the intentions were good, even if the actions aren't, the outcome is usually more favorable than not. Mark takes his readers on a different adventure than most authors by putting them through his own eyes on each aspect of his stories. This in my eyes is what puts Mark Twain on a level of his own when it comes to great American authors.

Does writing have the power to enact social change?

I think that writing could have the possibility to enact social change depending on your audience and style of writing. If you are writing fictional works for adults, chances are nothing in society will change from it. If you are writing for children, your writings might influence their entire lives and cause them to make different decisions and altercations along their lives. If your writing informational or persuasive pieces, your works may be successful in collecting believers and results of your writing may vary. Also, your position in society can affect how much it influences people because if you are a governor or a mayor, people will have more faith in what your discussing than if you are a carpenter or a plumber. In conclusion, good writing can influence many things if it hits the right spot in people.

price of a child

Joseph Coppola
“The Price of a Child”
Dear Lorene Cary,
As I began reading “The Price of a Child”, I did not know what to expect. The title of the book certainly makes you think a little bit, and there can be so many different interpretations of this title that I could not settle on one until I read the book and found out for myself. Before I started reading, I had expectations of yet another boring slave novel which would just tell how the main character planned and executed their attempts at freedom, but once again that title kept me on my heels. Why would any normal runaway slave leave behind one of her children? It just didn’t make sense to me until I got through the first chapter.
Unlike most slave narratives where the slave has to escape to freedom, “The Price of a Child” gave a different outlook on escaping when Ginnie and two of her three children just walk right away from their master without any struggle at all. But the fact that Bennie was left behind put many different thoughts into my head as to what might happen to him. Also, most books about slaves stress the actual escaping as the main focus of the book, but in this novel, the main character gets her freedom within the first few chapters and then focuses on developing a new life as a free woman in the northern states. The traditional name change and hiding is typical for all slave narratives, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when Ginnie changed her name to Mercer and lived in a shed for a while. But all in all, I think the plot of the story was much different and much more effective than most other books of this sort.
The most confusing part about this novel is that the title of the book is so heavily based on Bennie, that I would have expected him to play much more of a major role in the book. He really is only mention mostly in the beginning while the setting is still in the southern plantations, and is not heard from again until the very end of the book. If I had to change one element about this book, this would probably be the only thing I would want to alter. I think that if throughout the novel the reader is looking for an explanation to what the “price” of the child is, then the child should have a very major role in the book and not just mentioned in the beginning and then briefly again at the end.
In conclusion, I think that this novel is different from most and takes some unusual twists and turns that divert it from the other slave narratives that I have previously read. With a few changes and different decisions by the main character, I think that this novel could be taken to a whole new level and remembered as one of the best of its kind.
Sincerely,
Joseph Coppola