Reading Response~anything #3

Death of a Salesmam

By Arthur Miller

In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the protagonist Willy Loman is a salesman, and he has been out of luck all his life but always dreams that his two sons, Biff and Happy, may become successful business men. The reality is that Biff has never had a decent job and Happy is a playboy. One day, when the two sons finally decide to start a business under the encouragement of their mother, Linda, they plan to meet at a restaurant with Willy to discuss their business plan in the evening. Unfortunately, after having worked for a company for 35 years, poor Willy is fired in the morning of the same day.  When he walks into the restaurant with the expectation of getting some good news from the sons, he hears that Biff not only failed to borrow the capital from his old boss, Oliver, to start their imaginary business, he stole Oliver’s valuable fountain pen because Biff has been a chronic thief since he was young. The hopeless old Willy is really disappointed with all of the things that are happening to him.  So he decides to end his life by staging an intentional car crash, leaving his family members and friend, Charley, in great sorrow.

I think the book tells us about three main themes:

The first one is the American Dream----It tells us that Willy Loman has options. He has a lot of opportunities. Arthur Miller seems to be criticizing the American Dream, claiming that Corporate America drains the life out of people and casts them away when they are no further use. Yet, Willy Loman’s successful neighbor continually offers him a job! Willy Loman declines the job without ever explaining why. He has a chance to pursue a new life, but he won't let himself give up his old, soured dreams. Instead of taking the decent paying job, he chooses suicide. Arthur Miller would claim that the dysfunctional values of American society killed him. However, I believe that Willy Loman suffered from senility. He exhibits many of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. 

The second one is abandonment. There is constant abandonment in the play. Willy's father leaves him and Ben when they are very young with no money. Ben departs for Alaska, abandoning Willy after Willy declines the offer to go with him. Biff abandons Willy after discovering his adultery. Happy abandons his deluded father in the washroom in a restaurant at his hour of need so that he can impress a lady.

The third one is betrayal. Willy believes Biff to have betrayed his ambitions for him. Willy has an affair and betrays his wife's love. Biff feels that Willy has betrayed him with his lies of personal attractiveness.

Personally, I feel that Death of a Salesman is a very well written play, an intelligent criticism of the American dream that effectively uses many respected literary devices. Although there is no suspense in the play, the end is concern-provoking.  All in all, I feel like reading this play. My life has been influenced by the book.

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.

Blog Post #3

  North Of Beautiful
  By Justina Chen Headley

      North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley is about Terra, who is a young beautiful girl who loves to be “Beautiful”  She is almost perfect with the exception of the port wine on her left cheek. Even though she had tried many surgeries, but it had not been removed.  Terra is looking forward to going to college so she can hide away from the ones that bully her, but unfortunately, her mom and her got into a car accident. Later on in the book, she met Jacob an they form a close relationship as well as their parents. I think the author is trying to tell us appearence doesn't matter, what matters is who you are inside, what's a beautiful is the way you are not what you are.
     
     In the beginning of the book, she is so concern with her look, even her boyfriend judge her by her cover. For example:Terra had a port wine birthmark on her face, and Eric said, "Why don't you fix your face." This shows that her boyfriend cares about appearance.Terra doesn't want her boyfriend to like her because she is pretty, but it just isn't the way it works. From the start, Terra had always wanted to escape from where she live because people are bullying her. I can feel that everyday Terra had to live in a world fear and worryiness. But in the end of the book, this thought has changed.

    A quotation from the book:
     “Maybe we don’t have the same definition about what’s beautiful. So define it. Define true beauty.” . . .

     Without looking at Jacob, I said slowly, “Well it seeps into you. It doesn’t make you forget yourself, but totally the opposite.” I chanced a glance at him. He was watching me intently. No glaze in his eyes. So I continued more bravely: “It connects you with everything and fills you with awe that you share the same space with something that glorious. Like a sunrise or a clear blue day or the most extraordinary piece of glass. And then suddenly” – my hands escaped their tight grip in my lap, and now my fingers splayed wide like fireworks in the air – “you have this epiphany that there’s more to the world than just you and what you want or even who you are.”

    As decribe above in the quotation, Terra she describes "beauty" in a very literate way, she refers it to the sunrise, the clear blue sky, and a piece of extraordinary piece of glass. She refer "beauty" to something beautiful and sort of calm, whereas in the beginning she thinks that beauty is all about appearance and being perfect.
   
     I think in the end Terra really understand that appearance isn't everything. If she puts down herself being so perfect all the time, she might just find the world more exciting and that there is more outside. I think that Terra really finds herself in the end, now she is much happier and being herself.  And in the end of the book, Terra started to care less about her appearance and what others look at her, rather, she started to discover things around her; like Jacob who loves her, his mom who had been supportative to Terra's family ever since after the car accident, and mostly the world around her, the places she can go, the things she can do without any pressure whatsoever.
    
     Overall, and in the end, Terra had learned that what's beautiful doesn't had to always be appearance, but it can be something inside you that you haven't notice. And now she does, truly. Life does not revolve around being perfect all the time, there is more to it... beauty as it define above is a surise, a clear blue sky...something beautiful that comes from the nature and mostly inside you.