Creative Reading Response

The Great Gatsby 

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

   In the eye of Nick or most readers, Gatsby is great. As a child, he dreamed of wealth and luxury, and he has attained them with his own power. But as for me, Gatsby is great for his tragedy. 

     In Gatsby's entire life he has perused two things, one is spiritual comfort, Daisy; the other is materialism. However, what he is always long for, at last, becomes illusions.

     Five years ago, Gatsby felt helplessly in love with Daisy when he was a young officer in WWI, World War One. But Daisy married Tom for his wealth. Since then, Gatsby decided to win his love and his success in whatever ways. But the glamour and excitement of American life has affected Daisy a lot. She has become materialistic, vain and selfish. Gatsby has made a wrong choice at first for that what he wanted never exists. 

     “Her voice is full of money.” Gatsby is clear about reality, but he can’t get rid of his dreams. So he had to cheat himself and found many excuses for Daisy’s abnormal behaviors. “Five years next November.” For five years he is alone to run after a dream which no longer exists. Poor Gatsby! His loneliness was typical in the vivid picture of the modern America in that era. His romanticism is that he has devoted all his “magic” to an image, which leads to his ultimate destruction.

     If Gatsby’s spiritual comfort is a bubble, his material pursuit can also be concluded as a fail. There exists a national ethos of USA in which freedom includes a promise of possibility of prosperity and success. “Life should be better, richer, and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability regardless of circumstance of birth.” Gatsby hold this belief firmly in his heart. He had had strict demands on himself and cultivated good habits in his youth. But it was impossible to become wealthy without illegal trade, which at least proves true at that era in America. Being a bootlegger, he made a fortune, even though there was a law that forbade selling and drinking of alcohol. 

     If the whole society was not in the wrong way to seek fortune, fame and power, then Gatsby wouldn’t have done these criminal activities. This likes a scam. Gatsby seemed to be a piece of the chalkboard of the American society. At last, he became very rich, but the upper old class, well bred and far more refined, didn’t accept him. 

    Tom’s shameless affairs, Myrtle’s violent death caused by Daisy, Gatsby’s framde killed, these crimes went unpunished. Older generation, like Tom and Daisy, would just be “careless”, no fear, and no judgments. A social order has developed the benefit of classes rather than simple human being.

    I witness Gatsby’s kingdom became foam. The world of parties, bright lights, heavy drinking and jazz music suddenly disappeared, turned into disillusion. Gatsby’s life is like a leaf floated onto the ground, covered by the dirt, quietly. 

    What is tragedy? As Lu Xun said, “Tragedy is valuable thing that is doomed to be destroyed and we see the process of its destruction, doing nothing.” Whatever the wealth and Daisy had brought to Gatsby, one thing is clear; he feels neither peace nor any real pleasure. His attempt to fulfill his simple beautiful dream is like a boat rowing against the current. I can’t help clapping for his persistence. In a basis of sense, he is like a worshipper before a shrine.

Social Action Reading Response #2

    
     Suppose that you lived in a world that’s without fear, pain, warfare, poverty, hunger, or terror. It would be a perfect world, what they called a utopia. But even so you have to realize that in order for it to be a perfect world; you have to take away the most important elements of life such as feelings, love, diversity, choices, and even the ability to see colors. If all of these parts of life are taken away, that will not be considered a life. Life would be without feeling anything, just living and living and doing what you are told without any feeling towards anything. You end up doing something just because someone told you and that are how it’s done and that is what u is supposed to do. In The Givers by Lois Lowry, the community written is not a utopia.
    
     A job is an essential thing that we, the people have. It represents us; it’s something that we like and want to do. If it's so important, shouldn’t we enjoy it? In this "utopia," created in The Giver, job is not a choice. Other people choose what you are going to do as your job. For example, Fiona was assigned Caretaker of The Old, a job she really wanted, but what happens if she starts that job and decides that she really doesn’t like it? She can't change jobs because she lives in a world where she doesn't have a choice, where she can't run her own life, where all of her choices had been already made by others. By not having these choices, several tragedies have been seen. This man said, “I heard about a guy who was absolutely sure he was going to be an engineer and instead he was assigned sanitation laborer. He jumped into the river and swam to the closest community, no one saw him again." Having elders chose every job for everyone and expecting things to run smooth is completely unrealistic. How can you know what u want to do for the rest of your life by the age of twelve, when I was twelve all I wanted to do when I grew up was to be a fireman? Now I am eighteen and I want to become a chef, who knows that I won’t change my mind again within the next year? No one can predict what they would like to do for the rest of their life by the age of twelve. Having others decide what your going to do in the future is just an example of why the community written about in the giver is not a utopia.
    
     How can you love something that you have never really met it before? By having your wife chosen for you, no one is getting the chance to falling in love, the butterflies in your stomach as you try to ask someone out, or the sad feeling of being dumped. When you have never experience these feelings before in your life, how can you truly love the person that is assigned to you? This is a world where you can't feel anything for anyone, where you can't love your friends or your parents, where you can't have a girlfriend because you are assigned a wife. This community is where people are perfectly matched, but people can change who they like in a matter of time. In life, sometimes two people think they are made for each other and get married, but after a few years they get divorced. Why? Because they've changed and they don't longer want to be together. This can’t happen in this community because you are assigned the perfect match by the elders. If you have these feelings that you do not love the person you are assigned you must be wrong because the elders have found you your perfect match. "The community was so meticulously ordered, the choices so carefully made." (Chapter 6, pg. 48) Without experience of true love, this community is not a utopia.

     In the book, you have to apply for a child. How lame is that? In our world, people have the choice to adopt a baby and raise them as their own. It’s a wonderful thing that helps a lot of children have great lives when otherwise they wouldn’t. But also in this world people can have children of their own. Isn’t it so happy to see a couple pregnant and when they choose a name for their children? Isn’t it so pleasant? When you decide to get a child in this book, you receive them at the age of one with a name already assigned to them. How can this even begin to compare to the true experience of having a child? It can’t. Utopias can’t exist in this community because they are a hypothetical situation where everything is “perfect” But a perfect world can be different for everyone. This community is not a utopia.

     Everyone wants to have a perfect world. But it’s really pointless. Perfection doesn't exist. Utopias don't exist. No one is perfect. Living in a world that conatin absolutely no feeling, no humor, and no conflicts will be boring. Everyone is different and that's what makes us unique, each and everone of us...

Blog Post #6-Revised

Drummer Boy of Shiloh
Ray Bradbury

    When I was little, I used to be always compared to my older sister who’s tall, pretty, talented, and smart. I hated when my dad compares my test score to hers. It almost happened all the time. I remembered him saying, “You should get 100% like your sister did.” My family depended on her and for that I hated her, envy her, wished that I was the one who had gotten the higher grade. I almost wish that she didn’t exist at all, until this day when things changed.

     I came home tirelessly from school, knowing that scolding awaits before me. I had gotten an eighty on my English test. I don’t want to open the door. I knew that my sister will probably be laughing at me, thinking I’m stupid. How would you flunk that easy test, it’s almost impossible. I still had to face it; so, slowly I opened the door and walked in. Waiting before me was a birthday cake. I forgot it’s my birthday today, and they didn’t. I wanted to laugh, to thank them, but tears rolled down my cheek, it was of happiness. “We know that you’ve tried your best all these years, and we want to reward you for all the hard work you’ve done” They did notice. They did know all the things I did. They'd put it in a spot of their heart even if they didn't say it.. For once, I was importance to them. For once, I was recognized.

     This was similar to what happened to Joby in "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury. The peach blossom throughout the story signified Joby and how he had changed.

     The peach blossom in the beginning of the story symbolized Joby’s feelings and reactions to the war. “In the April night, more than once, blossoms fell from the orchard trees…fell swift and unseen, struck once, like panic, which jerked the boy upright. In silence he listened to his own heart ruffle away, at last gone from his ears and back in his chest again.” (49). Joby feels very cautious, even the slightest sound (the peach blosson) can wake him up. He knows that the war can happened at anytime, and he is alert. Through this quotation: “Beyond the third-three familiar shadows, forty thousand men, exhausted by nervous expectation, unable to sleep for romantic dreams of battles yet unfought, lay crazily askew in their uniforms.”(49). We can see that Joby and the other soldiers’ are looking forward to the war; consequently, they think that the war is a way to escape from where they’re before. At the same time they were nervous and afraid that they will die. In the beginning, Joby feels scared of the war, though this feeling changes throughout the story.

     The peach blossom in the middle of the story symbolized Joby’s confusion of the war. “The boy turned on his side. A moth brushed his face, but it was peach blossom. A peach blossom flicked him, but it was a moth. Nothing staying put. Nothing had a name. Nothing was as it once was…” (51) From the quote, Joby thinks that the war isn’t the way he imagines it to be because it says in the quote that “nothing was as it once was.” He had to face the war right now, and it’s not the romantic battles he once used to think. In addition, Joby doesn’t understand the war. “…soldiers put on their bravery with their caps, perhaps they might go away, the war with them, and not notice him lying small here, no more than a toy himself.” (51) In this quote, Joby regrets being a drummer boy and he wants to escape from the war. Joby doesn’t get the purpose of a drummer boy’s job; he doesn’t want to face the war. In the middle of the story, Joby had mix feelings about the war. He feels regretted and confused. Furthermore, he didn't realize his importance to the war until the general came into place.

     The peach blossom at the end of the story symbolized Joby’s figures his importance to the war. After the General’s talk with Joby, “…I was the drummer boy at the battle of Owl Creek or the Tennessee River, or maybe they’ll just name it after the church there. I was the drummer boy at Shiloh.ʼ …when we must get up on our legs and move!” (54) Joby finally recognize the importance of a drummer boy and how much the war needed him. He realizes this through the general’s encouragement. The drummer boy is a big part of the war because it gives the soldiers’ hope that they will win the war. “He lay next to it, his arm around it, feeling the tremor, the touch, the muted thunder as, all the rest of the April night in the year 1862, near the Tennessee River, not far from the Owl Creek, very close to the church named Shiloh, the peach blossoms fell on the drum.” (54) The peach blossom at the end gives a sense of calmness and peace.  Joby is no longer afraid of the war, and he is ready for the war the next day. In the end, Joby had recognized his importance to the war.

     The peach blossom throughout the book symbolized the changed Joby goes through. He used to be an afraid, scared boy and now he is a strong and brave solider. I finally recognized my importance as well as Joby’s.

Blog Post #5

Title: Maximum Ride (The Angel Experiment)
Author: James Patterson

   "Maximum Ride (The Angel Experiment)" by James Patterson is about these six kids: Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel who is made up scientists in a place called School. Max and the five others were created by combining human and avian DNA; so, they can fly. They used to live in cages and the scientists would torture them like they were an experiment until two years ago, they escape-all six of them. Now they were living on their own, but that's not the end. The Eraser as they called it, is part human and part wolf, and mostly Max and the five of them are their main prey. Even though they were trained to fight, but the Erasers were much stronger than them. The youngest of the group, Angel is recaptured and the rest fly back to School to rescue her as well as going across the country to find their true parents and identity. Family is an important theme in the book.

 In the beginning of the story, Max and the others were morphed in to a family unit. "The six of us- me, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel-were made on purpose by the sickest, most horrible "scientists" you could possibly imagine. They created us as an experiment. An experiment where we ended up only 98% human and the other 2% had a big impact, let me tell you." (2). in the quotation, Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel were made, and not blood related. Ever since they had escaped from the School, they depend on each other even though they are not related. After Jeb, their supposedly father had die, they were off to themselves. Everyone worked together to make living possible. For example, every morning Max makes the breakfast, and Fang helps him, and Angel picks the strawberries someday to make cakes. Throughout the story, Family came up as an important theme in the story.

 When Angel is recaptured by the Erasers, Max and the others work together to rescue her."But actually, Nudge, Fang, and I are going to look after Angel. You and Gasman- I need you to stay here. Hold down the fort. On the off chance Angel escapes and makes her way home" (34). They decided to split up in the benefit for Angel and that was the plan they came up with- Max, Nudge, and Fang was going to find Angel and Iggy and Gasman stay here hold down the fort for when she comes back. The fact that Max is even thinking of saving her shows how much he and the rest of the others care for her. The School is guarded with strong and furious Erasers who if seen, will tear them apart. Even though the quest is dangerous and they might kill themselves, they still want to try because Angel is a part of their family, even if they are not related. Family is an important theme throughout the story.

When they finally rescue Angel and had successfully escaped from the School, they are on a journey to find their parents. Angel had noticed that they were real babies born from real human mothers. "I heard that Nudge and Fang's mom and dad thought she had died. But she hadn't...Iggy's mom was dead when he was born...Angel and Gasman's parents gave them to the School... I didn't hear anything about Max. Nothing." (222-223). As soon as they knew they were not made, they were off set to find their parents, but it's strange that nothing had been heard about Max. Even when in New York City they did not find any files about his parents while the rest of the five did. At that point, Max could have just left and abandon them because they all found their parents and where they are, but he didn't. Max knew that he had to find their parents for them even if it meant dying himself. He was the leaser and nothing could have been more than seeing his family so happy. Family is an important theme throughout the book.

 Throughout the book, family is an important theme throughout the book. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel did not abandon each other. When the youngest Angel was captured, everyone was set to save her even if its danger for themselves. When they found out they had parents, Max did not leave them considering the fact that him, himself did not have any information on his parents. I think that everyone needed each and every one of them. Without one member, it seems like something is missing. They had been together for years and even if they are not related, nothing is going to break them up. Family is an important theme in the book.

Post #4

Drummer Boy of Shiloh
Ray Bradbury

      When I was little, I used to be always compared to my older sister who’s tall, pretty, talented and smart. I hated when my dad compares my test score to hers. It almost happened all the time. I remembered him saying, “You should get 100% like your sister did.” All my family depended on her and for that I hated her, envy her, wished that I was the one who got the higher grade. I almost wish that she didn’t exist at all, until this day when things changed.

       I came home tirelessly from school, knowing that scolding waits before me. I had gotten an 85% on my English test. I don’t want to open the door, knowing that my sister will probably be laughing at me, thinking I’m stupid. How would you flunk that easy test, it’s almost impossible. I still had to face it, so slowly I opened the door and walked in. Waiting before me was a birthday cake. I forgot it’s my birthday today, and they didn’t. I wanted to laugh, to thank them, but tears rolled down my cheek, it was of happiness. “We know that you’ve tried your best all these years, and we want to reward you for all the hard work you’ve done” They did notice, they did know all the things I did, and even if they didn’t say it, they’d put it in a spot in their heart. For once, I was importance to them, I was recognized.

       This was similar to what happened to Joby in The Drummer Boy of Shiloh by Ray Bradbury. The peach blossom throughout the story signified Joby and how he had changed.

       The peach blossom in the beginning of the story symbolized Joby’s feelings and reactions to the war. “In the April night, more than once, blossoms fell from the orchard trees…fell swift and unseen, struck once, like panic, which jerked the boy upright. In silence he listened to his own heart ruffle away, at last gone from his ears and back in his chest again.” (49). Joby feels very cautious, even the slightest sound can wake him up. He knows that the war can happened at anytime and he is alert. Through this quotation: “Beyond the third-three familiar shadows, forty thousand men, exhausted by nervous expectation, unable to sleep for romantic dreams of battles yet unfought, lay crazily askew in their uniforms.”(49). We can see that Joby and the other soldiers’ are looking forward to the war; they think that the war is a way to escape from where they’re before. At the same time, they were nervous and afraid that they will die.

       The peach blossom in the middle of the story symbolized Joby’s confusion of the war. “The boy turned on his side. A moth brushed his face, but it was peach blossom. A peach blossom flicked him, but it was a moth. Nothing staying put. Nothing had a name. Nothing was as it once was…” (51). From the quote, it seems like that Joby kind of regrets being a drummer boy because it says that nothing was as it once was. He had to face the war right now, and it’s not the romantic battles he once used to think. Joby doesn’t understand the war. He doesn’t get the purpose of a drummer boy’s job; he doesn’t want to face the war now.

       The peach blossom at the end of the story symbolized Joby’s recognization of the war.  “Good. And, God willing, many nights from tonight…I was the drummer boy at the battle of Owl Creek or the Tennessee River, or maybe they’ll just name it after the church there. I was the drummer boy at Shiloh.ʼ Who will ever hear those words and not know you, boy, or what you thought this night, or what youʼll think tomorrow or the next day when we must get up on our legs and move!” (54). Joby finally recognize the importance of a drummer boy and how much the war needed him. He realizes this through the general’s encouragement. The drummer boy is a big part of the war because it gives the soldiers’ hope that they will win the war. “He lay next to it, his arm around it, feeling the tremor, the touch, the muted thunder as, all the rest of the April night in the year 1862, near the Tennessee River, not far from the Owl Creek, very close to the church named Shiloh, the peach blossoms fell on the drum.” (54). The peach blossom at the end gives a sense of calmness and peace. Joby is no longer afraid of the war, and he is ready for the war the next day.  

       The peach blossom throughout the book symbolized the changed Joby goes through. He used to be an afraid, scared boy and now he is a strong and brave solider. I finally recognized my importance as well as Joby’s.