Post 7: Book 4 Reflection

Four Reasons Why Jason is a Hero

                Jason Grace is someone everyone looks up to and most people want to be him. He is good looking, popular, funny, and…he’s a demigod. He’s not just a normal demigod (yes, those do exist…in the book anyway), he has been to the Roman and Greek demigod camps, he is a son of Jupiter (AKA Zeus), and he is/was (it’s very complicated) praetor of the First Legion. Jason has many qualities to him, both demigod and human, that make him a hero.

   1.       He Will do Anything to Save His Friends

In The Blood of Olympus, Jason risks his life to save his friend, Percy Jackson. Jason could have left Percy to die, but he stuck around and helped fight. “Percy dropped Riptide. He gasped, crawling at his throat. The giant threw his weighted net and Percy collapsed to the floor, hopelessly entangled as the poison thickened around him. ‘Let him go!’ Jason’s voice cracked with panic,” (264). In this scenario, Jason could have left Percy behind and saved himself, but instead he risked his life to save Percy and fought the giant.

   2.       He Stands Up for What he Believes In

Jason is a man of his words and he is willing to use up his time to help ease tension between people, gods, demigods, and who knows what else. To please Kympoleia (a minor goddess) Jason says, “I’ll make sure none of the gods are forgotten at either camp. Maybe they’ll get temples, or cabins, or at least shrines…I’ll go back and forth between the camps until the job is done,” (270). Jason believes that he could ease tension is the “godly” world so he sees to it to try to make everyone happy, even minor gods who no one else ever thinks of.

   3.       He is Willing to Do What it Takes to Survive (when he sees his mom)

In The Blood of Olympus we see Jason struggle with a decision to do with his mother (demigods and the human parent always have interesting relationships). Jason struggled to come to terms with his decision, “Jason tried not to close his eyes. Every time he did, he saw his mom’s spirit disintegrating. ‘It wasn’t her,’ he said. ‘At least, no part of her I could save. There was no other choice.’ Annabeth took a shaky breath. ‘No other right choice…” (40). Jason did the right thing to let his mom go so that he could survive, even though he misses his mom a lot.

   4.       He is Sympathetic to Others Needs

Sometimes in books you will see a hero that only tries to save himself and the world (or city, or town), without trying to help the people involved or without any help from other. But Jason is a hero who will try to save everyone he can, even if it means he is risking his life in an unnecessary way. One way we see this in Jason is, “They needed to leave. Jason was running out of air…but Percy was still woozy from the poison, so they sat on the edge of the ruined golden dome for a few minutes to let Percy catch his breath…” (273). Even though Jason could have left Percy himself or could have dragged Percy with him, he waited until Percy was recovered.

                These traits are important aspects of being a hero. Jason is seen a “good” hero, he does all the right things, even when it is hard. These aspects show that even though he is a demigod, he still has the feelings of a human. These traits could be carried over to the actual world. People could see that anyone could be a hero if they make the right choices and are willing to do what it takes. 

Reading Wishlist

These are all books I want to read, but for my next book, I want to read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Book Talk Presentation

Book 2 Trailer

Book 3 Listicle

Five Reasons Why Abby Puts Up a Wall

Abby Abernathy is your normal college freshman, except that she has a gambler as a father, she played poker with professionals starting when she was 13, and by the end of freshman year…she’s married. She didn't jump into her marriage though; it took heartbreaks and allowing someone she didn't know into her life, mind, and heart. To understand the ball of fire that is Abby, you have to know her background and why she has a solid wall built around her that only a few can penetrate.

1.       Her Father Blames Her

Abby’s father was a gambler, and he was winning, until Abby’s 13^th birthday. On her 13^th birthday her father’s luck changed for the worse. He started losing money, causing him to drink. Starting on her 13^th birthday and continuing to the present, she is now 19, her father blames her for the turn in his luck. He believes that she took everything away from him.  Abby’s father, Mick, yells about Abby, “‘If it weren't for her, I woulda had my own money. You took everything from me, Abby. I have nothin’ ’” (261). This quotes exposes that Mick blames Abby for his bad luck, making Abby put up a wall of defenses around her. She thinks that is she won’t let people in, then they can’t hurt her.

2.       She Used to be a Gambler

Because her dad believes that she took his luck away, Abby herself started playing poker to make money for her father and for herself. She was forced to play professionals and to win all the money she could to try to keep her dad happy. Abby talks to her father, “Mick’s eyes were suddenly animated. ‘You can double that in a weekend…’” (260). This quote shows that Abby used to be an extreme gambler, a popular gambler. Abby wants to stay away from gambling but this quotes tells the readers that Abby could make, and used to make, a lot of money off of gambling, so she tries to hide it.

3.       She Doesn't Want Anyone to Know Her Past

She moved away from her home to have a fresh start, but she is constantly worrying someone will figure out that she is “Lucky Thirteen,” the name she was given because her luck picked up on her 13^th birthday.  At Travis’s dads house Abby says, “‘That was the nickname the papers gave me. And the story wasn’t exactly accurate.’ I said, fidgeting,” (233). This quote demonstrates that Abby tries to push away the past and tries to keep the attention away from what she used to do.

4.       She is Afraid of Who She Was

Abby doesn't want to be “Lucky Thirteen” anymore, in fact she doesn't even want people, including her boyfriend (later husband), to know her father’s name. She is scared of her past: the gambling, drinking, and fake ID’s. She doesn't want to go to Vegas to win money that she knows she could live off of. Abby later apologizes to Travis when he finds out about who her father is, “‘I’m sorry I didn't tell you, but it’s not something I talk about,’” (235). This quite reveals that Abby keeps things to herself, even from the most important people in her life, because she doesn't want to be the same person she used to be.

5.       She Doesn't Want to Drag Anyone Down With Her

Abby thinks that if she slips up and breaks the “perfect” girl way, that she will slip back into her gambling and drinking lifestyle. She is afraid that is she does she will be the weight that drowns everyone that is close to her. She separates herself from things that could potentially be a setback in what she is trying to make herself. She pushes people away to make sure that she doesn't hurt anyone with her old ways. In Vegas Abby says to Travis, “‘I don’t want you there, Trav….If I’m going to win fourteen thousand dollars in one weekend, I have to concentrate. I don’t like who I’m going to be while I’m at those tables, and I don’t want you to see it, okay?’” (262). This shows that Abby tries to cover up her “rebellious” side, in order to keep the people she loves out of trouble.

This is important because it shows that some people are not who they seem and may have something to hide, but it also shows that you can get to know someone if you wait patiently. Some people need to separate themselves from their home and that is their decision, and people should respect it.

Post #5: Truth in a Memoir

Books that are considered non-fiction need to be completely nonfiction in the authors mind. A nonfiction book needs to be factual. Laila Lalami says, “Naturally, in the process of writing, there are things that you remember differently than other people.” If the author recalls a certain event one way, but another author recalls that same event in a different way they can both be nonfiction. People experience things differently, but that shouldn't make how they feel fiction.  Books that are written to be called nonfiction need to have a strong factual evidence of what happened along with the author’s way of interpreting that event.

Half-truths are not okay when telling a story. A half-truth book changes from nonfiction to fiction with each lie. A memoir is not truly a memoir unless the events actually happened to the writer. Seth Greenland says, “And a memoir if it’s not…if it has things in it that are made up…I’m not sure it’s a novel…you could make the argument that it’s a novel, but it’s certainly not a memoir.” If the truth is stretched, if scenes are made up, or if choices are differing from what actually happened it should be considered a realistic fiction novel, rather than a memoir. There is room for error in places such as dialogue because no one is going to be able to remember the exact words said in a situation that happened 5 years ago, 5 months ago, or even 5 weeks ago. Dialogue can be falsified as long as the conversation did take place and the gist matches what the real life conversation was about.

We do need lines between fiction and nonfiction. One way a reader can classify themselves is as a fiction or nonfiction reader, without the genre lines readers would have a harder time finding what they want to read. I like to read dystopian and realistic fiction novels, but if I didn't have those labels it would be much harder to find books that are similar to books that I have read in the past. Also, the genre of the book is its purpose. If the genre is taken away so is the books main purpose, this is why books need to be classified into genres.  

Post #4: Adapting Book 2

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower makes the most sense as a movie. It is not long enough to make a TV show out of, but a good length and a good plot that would work well for a movie. If it were to be made into a TV show it would probably show Charlie as he goes through high school, but almost all of it would have to be made up because the book ends after his freshman year.
2. A scene that would have to be kept in the movie is when Charlie sits with Sam and Patrick at the football games. This scene would have to be in the movie because it is the beginning of Charlie's friendship with Sam and Patrick. It shows how kind Patrick and Sam are to Charlie even though they don't know him. Without the football game scene the rest of the book would be very different because instead of Charlie having new friends and meeting new people he would be alone and the book would be very different and would probably be boring. Another scene that would be needed in the movie is when Charlie gets high. This scene is important for comic relief in the otherwise more dramatic and serious book. It also shows how Charlie is growing over time and some of his character development. An important scene that would need to be portrayed in the movie would be when Charlie kisses Sam even though he is dating Mary Elizabeth. This takes place when Patrick dares Charlie to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. This scene is important because it shows how Charlie is in love with Sam and how after he does this many things change for him.  After this happens Charlie's friends don't talk to him for awhile and he starts to smoke a lot of pot.
3. A scene that would need to be taken out is when Charlie is just sitting at the mall watching people. This scene would not be in the movie because it is not that important to the overall story, it would just take away time from the overall movie if it was in the movie. Also, the movie would not need to show when Charlie buys pot from Bob because there is not much in that scene except for the exchange of money and pot.
4. Some of the things that Charlie see's and hears would not be able to be in the film because it would not remain PG-13; the film would need to be PG-13 or else it would lose a lot of the audience for it.
5. The character's would have to be played by young adults who have experience with acting. The actors would need to be semi-popular to create more of a fan base for the book/movie. The actor that plays Charlie would need to be able to take on a tough role.
6. The songs referenced in the book should be used because that is a big part of how Charlie feels. Music is also important to Sam and Patrick, so their favorite songs should be used too. Also, strong instrumental songs should be used in the movie to explain how Charlie feels happy and sad at the same time, and how there are many different moods throughout the book.
7. The movie would need to capture how Charlie is writing letters to his "friend" that he does not actually know. This would need to be portrayed because it is the unique writing style of Stephen Chbosky and is how Charlie's story is told in the book.