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The main character’s name is Charlie. He is the youngest of three kids, with a mother and father. They have a pretty normal family from the outside, but once you go on the inside you realize they have as many problems as the rest of the world. One day at a football, game Charlie meets his new friends that he will be with until they graduate. The two kids introduce him to an entirely new group of kids that he had never known before. They call themselves the wall flowers. Charlie is a complicated person on the inside. He can’t always control his mind and that can get him in trouble, not with anyone in particular but mostly himself. He has to see a psychiatrist. There are many things that can trigger him to become wary or emotional. 

This is a common thing that can often be linked with anxiety. It is a normal thing to have going through high school with projects or tests or even friends, but this is not the same thing. I have sometimes experienced something of the sort. It has a lot to do with being able to control your mind and wanting it to stay calm, but while doing that, all you do is think about what is bothering you more. For Charlie, this issue comes up when he is thinking about the past (if you read the book you will know what I mean). 

I think this book, though could be debated with others, is actually a really good book. I read it and it made me think about how I was feeling more deeply and how I could relate to this book. Being a teenager in the same time period that this book was written, I can relate to most of the things that happened in the book, whether it is me personally or via someone else. 

I would recommend this book to mostly young-adults and the grown-up that likes to relive their child hood through a book. I think it gives a lot of truths that some books like to gloss over because of trying to paint teenagers as their stereotype, or even trying to go too far the opposite way. For example, I think Perks does a very good job as telling the life as it is, at least through the way  I have seen it so far. Over all I thought this was a really truthful book with a very well detailed story. 

My Creative Portion  

For my creative portion of this project, I chose to show the main character Charlie’s development throughout the story through the books that he reads. Throughout the book, Charlie reads 12 different books. Each one he reads at a different point in the story. For each one I wrote one word the described how he was feeling while reading that book. I wrote it on the back of a book that I put paper over and wrote the title and author of the book on to give it the affect that it was actually the book that he had read. Below is a picture of the books he read all stacked in order of when he read them. 

Sarah Dessen is #1 on the New York Times Bestselling Author, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, 1998, A YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, 1999, New York Public Library Book for the Teenage, 2001, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, 2003. She has written many books two of which I have already read. All her books focus on teenage girls and she usually will tie in different characters that have a small role in one book, but a large role in another. The book I chose Keeping the Moon was published September 1st, 1999 it was her third novel she now has ten books, one novella, and the current book she is writing. In 2003 the film how to deal with Mandy Moore was based off of Someone like you and That summer both written by Sarah Dessen.

Keeping the Moon, also released as Last Chance is about fifteen year old Nicole Sparks or Colie. This books narrates her summer that she spends her Aunt Mira in fictional Colby,a small beach town presumably in North Carolina. Each Sarah Dessen book has some sort of theme, some are simple and some can be more complex. This book is a very simple theme, friendship, a theme that evolves to be very complex. Colie was once overweight so was her mother, however her mother started aerobics and they both became very skinny, Colie evolving into a small case of anorexia.

When she arrives in Colbie she is very hesitant to make friends, she always had been however when she starts work at The Last Chance burger joint she makes new friends.

Her main best friends are two girls who have graduated from high school, it is never made clear how old they are however. Morgan is very tall and very welcoming of Colie, Isabel however is very rude and difficult towards Colie. The two only become friends when Isabel meets one of Colie’s arch enemies, who calls her a slut and a bitch.

Norman is the young man, probably seventeen or sixteen who lives in Aunt Mira’s basement, he is the cook at the Last Chance and takes an interest in Colie, the two start out as friends but become involved near the end.

Aunt Mira is very eccentric and reminds Colie of who she used to be, more of what she and her mother used to look like. Colie is somewhat afraid of Mira in the beginning but the two become good friends while talking. Colie learns that Mira’s life is very difficult, she is made fun of all over Colby but when Colie confronts Mira with this, she learns how strong Mira is.

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

by Jesse Shuter

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was an extremely well written book with a plot that has many interesting twists and turns. The Great Gatsby is one of America’s most popular books, it is assigned to be read in school all across the United States. The Great Gatsby was also turned into a movie four times (1926; 1949; 1974; and 2013) and was even briefly a television program (2000). The Great Gatsby is a timeless classic, on USA today’s website The Great Gatsby is currently number three on the best seller list, and it has been on the best seller list as one of America’s top ten books for 407 weeks. It is clear that The Great Gatsby will be one of America’s favorite books for a very long time.

    In The Great Gatsby the narrator is Nick Carraway. Nick moves from his home in Minnesota to New York to learn about and get a job in the bond business. He moves to West Egg, New York right next door to Jay Gatsby. Nick introduces the reader to Gatsby and the reader meets Gatsby through the eyes of Nick. Nick is also cousins with Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom Buchanan attended Yale with Nick. Jay Gatsby was an extremely young wealthy man who lives in an extravagent mansion where he throws outrageous, huge parties every saturday night. The interesting thing about Gatsby is that no one seems to know about his past. Through getting to know Gatsby, Nick discovers that born James Gatz on a small farm in North Dakota. He then went to train to be in the army, and while training to be an officer he met Daisy Buchanan, Nick’s cousin. Gatsby fell in love with Daisy and wanted to gain wealth in order to impress her. He became wealthy by participating in the illegal act of bootlegging alcohol. After being in a relationship with Daisy for a while, Gatsby had to leave to be in the army. Meanwhile after Gatsby left Daisy met Tom Buchanan, whom she married and started a life with. Tom is your average arrogant jerk. His is rascist, sexist and even a hypocrite. Tom also has a mistress, her name is Myrtle Wilson. Daisy had a close friend named Jordan Baker who is a professional golfer, she begins a relationship with Nick in the story. In the story Gatsby befriends Nick and then uses him to reunite with Daisy. It is then that they begin an affair. When Tom finds out he is outraged, which is interesting because he is having an affair of his own. Gatsby and Tom start to get in a fight with each other over Daisy. Later in the book Tom discovers that Gatsby kills Myrtle Wilson while driving in his car with Daisy, what he did not know was that Daisy was the one driving the car. Tom immediately tells Myrtle’s husband, George Wilson, and because of this George begins to believe that Gatsby was the one having an affair with Myrtle. George goes mentally unstable because of the anger and kills Gatsby and then himself. Even though all that Jay Gatsby wanted was love, all he got was betrayl and death.

    In the book I would say that there are two kinds of conflict. The first is person vs. person. This is because throughout the book there is a tremendous amount of tension and fighting between Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy. Gatsby is even murdered because of this anger and tension. The type of conflict is person vs. self. This is throughout the entire book, especially in Jay Gatsby. Ever since Gatsby met Daisy all he wanted was her apporoval and her addoration. He did things that he did not necessarilly want to do in order to earn her love. He throws all of these parties not because he loves to party, but because he needs this kind of excitement, approval, and even support to replace the emptiness he feels from letting the girl he loves get away. The life of Jay Gatsby is sad and that is why he deserves sympathy. That is also why Jay Gatsby is my favorite character in The Great Gatsby. He is such an interesting character, who is viewed by some as a celebrity, yet all he wants is for the woman he loves but can’t have to love him.

    I can relate to Jay Gatsby. I have never done anything illegal to gain money, but the aspect of Gatsby of which I identify with is the aspect where he is willing to do whatever it takes to reach a goal. He is admirable for his perseverance because he always succesful in his endeavors.

    I liked the book but I did not love it. I found that throughout most of the book there are rising actions which are boring after a while. I found myself waiting and waiting and waiting for the climax of the book which I personally felt did not appear until late in the book when Tom discovered the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby. By this point the author had left himself very little time for the plor to resolve so I felt that the final big things were rushed at the end of the book. If I could change something in this book it would most likely be that the climax begins closer to the middle of the book, and this way there is more time for the falling actions from after the climax to pace themselves and occur in a way that does not feel quite as rushed. I would not recommend this book. It takes a very high vocabulary to truly understand the plot of this book, and also the book was tedious in many parts.

Quote Analysis:

    “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had all the advantages that you’ve had’”. (Page 1, Paragraph 2, Chapter 1, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald). This quote happens almost immediately in the book and yet it is my favorite quote in the whole book. This quote sets the tone for the entire story. It does multiple things at once to help the reader. First of all it introduces the reader to Nick Carraway who will be the narrator throughout the story. Secondly, it explains Nick’s views on life and his back story. Finally, It foreshadows the rest of the book it lets you know that later in the book there is going to be a time where the reader needs to set aside the views and understand that a person may have done their actions for a reason that the reader does not understand because they have never needed this thing. I personally believe that the moment this quote is leading to is the point in the book when we learn that Jay Gatsby illegally shipped and distributed alcohol which is also known as bootlegging. What the reader needs to understand is that Gatsby felt the desperate need for wealth because first of all he was raised in a poor household and he wanted to have a better life than his parents, and second of all, he wasdesperately in love and he wanted to earn the girl he loved’s heart by becoming wealthy.

Vocab (Difficult words throughout the book):

Commensurate- Adj, corresponding in size or degree.

Hauteur- Noun, disdainful pride

Convivial- Adj, friendly or lively (of an atmosphere or event)

Apathetic- Adj, showing ot feeling no interest, or entusiasm

Privy- Adj, sharing in the knowledge of something secret ot private

Sauntered- Verb, to walk in a slow, relaxed manner

By George R. R. Martin

Andrew Roberts

Recently I had the pleasure of reading the first installment of George R. R. Martin’s series   A Song of Ice and Fire.  I enjoyed A Game of Thrones greatly, and will read it again, along with the other books in the series.  A Game of Thrones was written in 1996, and won the 2004 Locus Award as well as being nominated for the 2004 Nebula Award and the 2004 World Fantasy Award.  There are five books currently in the series, with twi more to be written, A Game of Thrones being the first, and then A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons.  The Winds of Winter, the sixth book, is currently being written.  A Game of Thrones is the base of the first season of HBO’s TV series Game of Thrones, the other books being the bases for the other series.

A Game of Thrones is not a simple book.  It consists of three separate plot lines that do not interact in the book itself, but it can be foreseen that they will affect each other greatly in future books.

The first plot line includes most of the main characters save two.  There are eight Great Houses in a kingdom called the Seven Kingdoms (which is kind of ironic, because there are actually eight) or Westeros.  The story focuses on House Stark, which rule one of the seven parts of this kingdom.  They rule the northern part of the kingdom, and are constantly warning that winter is coming (their slogan is, in fact, that).  After some character development, the King comes to Winterfell, where the Stark family resides.  The King wants Lord Eddard Stark, head of the family and also a friend of King Robert (who is from another of the houses: House Baratheon) to be his new Hand.  The Hand is the second-in-command to the king, and handles matters of money and organization and such (there is a saying: “The King drinks, the Hand buys the wine”).  The King’s previous Hand was mysteriously murdered, and Eddard decides to go to King’s Landing, the capital, to become the Hand and also to find out what exactly happened.  He leaves his son Robb in charge at Winterfell along with his wife.  Just before he leaves, his son Bran falls off the castle roof while climbing.  His wife, Catelyn, learns that he did not in fact fall; he was pushed.  While visiting her son in bed, she is attacked by an assassin with a knife she finds belongs to Tyrion Lannister, a member of House Lannister, which is always vying for power and is feared by many.  Lysa arrests Tyrion Lannister, and in retaliations his brother Jamie attacks Eddard in King’s Landing and kills his guards.  A Civil War erupts.

The second plot line follows Jon Snow, bastard son of Lord Eddard Stark.  Jon, being a bastard, has never fit in, and decides to ‘take the black’, or go to serve on the Wall, a monstrous wall built over centuries to protect the Seven Kingdoms from threats in the north.  He goes to the Wall, and shortly after he arrives his uncle Benjen Stark goest on a scouting trip beyond the wall and never comes back.  The Others (the name for the creatures beyond the wall) are stronger in winter, and winter is coming.
The third and final plot is one that tells the tale of Daenerys Targaryen, the daughter of a king King Robert unseated.  Her and her brother Viserys go out of the Seven Kingdoms to a land to the west where the Dothraki live.  Viserys weds Daenerys to Khal Drogo, in return for an army that he will use to take back the Seven Kingdoms.  That army is never given, and Viserys dies  soon after.  Daenerys becomes pregnant, and Khal Drogo promises his future son the Seven Kingdoms for his rule.

The book does not follow one specific person, so there is not an obvious favorite for the reader.  I personally liked Arya Stark, Jon Snow, Catelyn Stark, and Tyrion Lannister.  Arya is a rebel; she refuses to be made into the stereotypical “lady”, unlike her sister, Sansa, who is very ladylike, but also sides with the enemy because she loves a prince.  Arya does not care what people think she should be, but does what she wants.  She gets trained to fight with a sword her half-brother Jon gives her.  Jon is the bastard of Lord Eddard Stark and another, unknown woman.  He ‘takes the black’, or joins the Night’s Watch, a group of people who defend the kingdom from almost mythical monsters in the far north.  He has, being a bastard, always struggled to fit in, but he does so at the Night Watch.  He earns his peers’ and his superiors’ respect, and, though he struggles, finally finds a home.  Catelyn works behind the scenes to carry messages and to generally assist in ways that others cannot.  She is also a comfort to others and, though discouraged by things such as lying friends and ignorant sisters, is a strong person assisting her son in doing what he needs to do (which is something I will not spoil).

One thing that reoccurs (but is perhaps not the best of messages) is Eddard’s want to do the noble thing, but then that noble decision turns out bad for him.  The message I got from that is this: while the noble thing is seems right, it will not necessarily benefit you or the people around you.  You must not let nobility get in the way of the right choice.

In this story, there are many examples of kids taking the responsibility of adults; Robb becomes Lord when Eddard becomes Hand, among other examples.  I cannot relate to this, and hope not to have that much responsibility ever on me at that age.  I can imagine the feeling of this, and do not think I want it.

I love this book.  I will most definitely read the next books.  A Game of Thrones was a thrilling tale of politics, treachery, and war.  I loved the plot twists and the cliff-hangers and the action.  There is one significant problem I had with the book: there are several vivid descriptions of sexual activity.  While George R. R. Martin could have gone into much more detail, he still passed the line.  I ended up skipping parts where this happened simply because I did not want this in my mind.  When I finished the book, I went back to one occasion and read it for the specific purpose of getting a taste for what the author was trying to convey.  While these incidences do provide a sense of realism, there is no real need for any of them.  The TV show stays true to the book, and visual images are much worse than mental ones.  That is what I would change in this book - I would take these incidences out.

I would most certainly recommend this book to others, but not anyone below high school, because of the things I described in the last paragraph.  This also has a high reading level and is a little slow in the beginning, and weaker readers may find it less enjoyable because of that.  But overall, this is a series I will follow until it ends.

Josh Berg

Independent Reading Review

The Girl Who Played with Fire was written by Stieg Larsson before his death in 2004. The Girl Who Played with fire is the only novel in the Millennium series that has its title unchanged. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is originally called Män som hatar kvinnor before translation, in English, Men who hate women. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest is called Luftslottet som sprängdes, in English, The air castle that was blown up. A prominent  theme for the series in general, is violence against women. This theme is quite visible and present in the plot of all of the books due to a gang rape that Larsson witnessed at a young age. He felt guilty for years after for not being able to intervene and it would seem that the books in the Millennium series were partially a form of retribution for Larsson. Not only did these books do well for Larsson on a personal level, but sold fantastically as well. The novel I read for this particular Independent reading, The Girl Who Played with Fire, is the first and only translated novel to be number one in the UK hardback chart. It spawned movies as well as graphic novels, which are for the most part still in the works, however I am in the process of trying to acquire The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo graphic novel which is the only one complete at this point.  It is a shame that Larsson never really got to see the impact that these novels he crafted had on people. 

*MINOR SPOILER WARNINGS*

I am trying to not divulge too much information that could potentially spoil this book if you have not read the first one, however you have been warned.

This novel follows the same main characters and introduces many new minor  ones and a few new major ones. Despite how impressively crafted the main characters are, it is really the minor ones that make the book for me. They draw comparisons between themselves and the main characters in interesting ways, as well as provide sometimes quirky personalities, but most of all, they are human. These characters minor and major alike are not black and white. It is the minor characters more often than not that are the glue that holds the book. At the beginning of the book, Lisbeth has cut ties with her beloved journalist Mikael Blomkvist. This is most likely due to her inability to go back to the world where they did not know each other. It is most certainly difficult because Blomkvist has not had as hard of a time with the whole transition and has resumed his relationship with Berger. I am glad that Larsson did not just drop the whole idea of how difficult this is for someone, especially someone who is a bit emotionally imbalanced like Salander. Salander is strong in many ways, but as stated before, she is a human being and is susceptible to certain things which is really what draws her apart from many stereotypical female characters in stories. A fair amount of the time you will usually have a character that is very much a mere archetype. You might have the stereotypical vulnerable female character or a usually noble attempt to make a strong female character that often falls short due to exaggerations and falling into a femme fatal emotionless object. That is really what makes Lisbeth special, the details that do not pertain too much to the main story as they may be eventually resolved. These things make the characters and situations seem real.

My favorite character despite my obvious enjoyment of the more minor characters is probably Lisbeth Salander. I feel like a bit of a plebeian writing that, but so be it. She really does have a lot going for her character that really makes her compelling. The hopelessness that she feels is a theme throughout the book that is only made to feel more real through the other times that she feels strong. She is a real person that could exist, but she still remains interesting in so many ways. 

I did enjoy this book quite a bit, although I think it is only fair to note that although I enjoyed Larsson’s writing style throughout the book, it did lose a lot of its novelty and freshness that made the first book so amazing to me. It still has that complexity yet lack of stuffiness that I really enjoy. These books are the opposite of books that talk down to you in the way they talk to you. I recommend the first book to anyone who thinks they can handle a lot of the themes and the actual writing itself. I recommend the second to those who loved and hated the characters from the first with a passion. 

For my creative piece I drew a book cover. The cover is supposed to have art that resembles the room Salander is in during the prologue as I found this part to be extremely powerful, not to mention well-written and important to the rest of the plot. I omitted many of the details for the sake of artistic interpretation and to make the rest of it pop and not have a lot of jumble. Not to mention I couldn’t draw the details so well and I had already put forth a lot of effort into other areas of the creative piece such as the flaps.

In Mrs. Hull’s art class we created a drawing based on an element in the periodic table. During this process many things were difficult, but I was lucky enough to overcome them instantly. When I first started this project, I had many questions. Like, how I was going to create the print into the paper, the history behind the element, in order for me to create a unique picture so that it somewhat related to the element. I stated some inquiry. I then researched the history behind the element and found out that the element Ruthenium is a very rare, hard, lustrous, brittle, silvery-white metal. It is one of the top 6 rarest elements in earth. Therefore I decided to draw a unicorn. Unicorns are rare. That was my second idea, but it was my best. In order for me to make a decision I had to collaborate with my colleagues to help me pick the best idea. I had three ideas, and the unicorn idea was the one they encouraged me to do. I also liked that idea, so I choose to draw the unicorn. Since I’m an artist, I always mat my drawings. I really enjoyed matting this particular drawing because I’ve never done this type of drawing. Presentation came in, every artist has to present their drawing the best way possible, matting this drawing presents the drawing in a professional way. Like I said, I never did a project like this before. The process of this element drawing, has taken a long time, but it’s been worth it. I learned many things. Including a combination of science and art. It’s been great. 

Nobel Prize winner William Golding's classic "Lord of the Flies" explores and exposes the darkest parts of human nature, and the childhood desire of independence. Shield your eyes if you must, as insanity and gore take hold.

When a group of British boys crash land on a desert island, their first reaction is "Yeah! No Adults!". But when it comes time to govern themselves, that's when they start to head down a slippery slope and the tension starts to rise. 

Ralph, the main character, discovers a conch shell, and when he blows it, all the other boys that were on the island come to the sound of the shell. This earns him the spot as Chief, much to the other main character, Jack's, dismay. 

Ralph's goal as chief was to keep a fire burning all the time, so that if a ship passed by, it would see the smoke and come rescue them. Jack, however, could've cared less about the fire, and more about hunting, and his role as head of the hunters.

As the chapters progress, the tension between the two rises, and is ultimately pushed over the edge when a ship passes by, but Jack and his hunters had let the fire go out so they could go hunting. A furious Ralph calls Jack out in front of all of the boys, and Jack leaves to form is own tribe. 

But his new tribe didn't play by the rules. Each day, the members grew more and more savage in their hunting clan. Their only cares were the hunt, and trying to one up Ralph's group. They attacked them unprovoked, and stole from them. They were aggressive, and highly dangerous as more and more savagery was brought out in them.

The book also speaks of a "beast", whose existence is unjustified. The thought of it strikes terror in some, but challenge in others. The boys attempt to find it and kill it, but are never successful. 

But the "beast" also strikes respect, especially from the "savages". During a fateful hunt in the heart of the climax, the savage tribe hunts down a pig for their feast and pyretic dance. As an offering of respect to the beast, they cut off the pig's head, and put the bloody thing on a stick, and jam it into the ground. This "Lord of the Flies" represents the craze and bloodthirst in these boys, but also the so called "beast" being the humans themselves.

This boiling conflict can definitely be described as people versus people; Jack versus Ralph and their building tension that is ultimately set over the edge. But also, Jack's lot of boys versus Ralph's lot. It can also be described as person versus self, with Jack and Ralph both unaware of what this island has birthed and planted in them. This fast paced, high intensity, inter webbing conflict is exciting and engaging throughout the entire book.

Another significant character, and my favorite, Piggy, is also a boy on the island. As his name implies, he's fat, but as Ralph realizes, he's very bright and is an excellent thinker. This earns Piggy Ralph's respect, and friendship. They use Piggy's glasses to light the fire. This is a symbol of how someone may seem useless-- fat and lazy, but are more valuable then perceived. Piggy is also a significant symbol in the book. He represents civility, as he keeps this while everyone else is being subconsciously changed by the island and the lack of rules and civilization. His appearance, paired with his intellectual capacities and ability to stay rational justifies this. Much would be different in the book without him and his mind. 

As it seems every character and item is symbolic, there is much to take away from this masterful craft. The Pig Head represents the humans being the beast. The conch, I believe, represents order and something to go around or follow. Something sacred and divine, but fragile at the same time. Ralph represents order, and civility, while Jack represents savagery and primal instincts. This balance, or fight, between order and savagery is a main theme to take away, and how people's desire for power can bring out these primeval surges.

I think I, and many others can relate to this book and learn from this book. While I've never been stranded on a deserted island having to govern myself, I feel I can relate to Ralph. I have had many experiences where I have tried to keep everyone orderly but their "primal urges", or craze, was difficult to. Like Ralph, I got very frustrated by that, because when everyone is going nuts while your trying to keep things orderly, it's annoying.

I also feel that if some of my friends were in this position, they would be succumbed to the beckoning of the urges of savagery and human darkness, but in society, they're not. We never see what these boys were like before landing on the island, but we can get a pretty good idea from how they develop, evolve, and change when going through this.

Overall, I feel this craft of literature is stellar writing. From the deep symbolism, heart-racing conflict, and picture-painting detail, I loved the book despite the grossness of it, and despite the lunacy and bloodshed that took place.

The rich symbolism is a strong strength. So much can be learned and taken away from this story, from each character and item, and this quality is a distinct strength.

However, while I thoroughly enjoyed it and was thoroughly impressed, there were a few easy to spot weaknesses I would have changed. Golding uses the same words over and over, and it was slightly infuriating to read. There was too much word repetition, such as "savage" and "hunt" being way overused. In the same way, every time he said "Ralph's fair hair" was aggravating, like the word repitition. Also, I feel he included things that didn't matter or affect the plot. like four pages about a littlun crying.

Despite all this, I thought this was a phenomenal book. It's quick moving pace, deep symbolism, and powerful themes made it a keeper in my eyes. If you can get past the gore, the savagery, the killing, and the insanity, I would recommend this book because of all this. There is much that can be learned and interpreted from this book, and if you dare look past the present topics that make us nauseous, it will challenge your analytical capacity and leave an impact.

Negative space is the space between the figure or object. It's not the object it's the areas around it. 

    B. Explain how you found negative space in 1. your cut out?, I found my negative space by cutting around the bird. all the access paper is the negative space. 

  C. Why does it help an artist to see in negative space? It helps an artist to see in negative space because it's easier to see the entire picture not the small pieces of the drawing. 

    D. Does seeing in negative space enhance drawings, why or why not? It depends on the artist if they put specific detail in their negative space then it might look really nice. But for me, I pay attention to detail so negative space doesn't help me as much. 

Neuromancer Book review

Neuromancer was written in 1984 by William Gibson. It was one of the first major works in the cyberpunk genre, and won multiple award, including the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, and the Phillip K. Dick award. It inspired movies such as The Matrix and video games such as Shadowrun. The cult classic Johnny Mnemonic was based on a William Gibson short story of the same name, set in the Neuromancer universe. There have been numerous attempts to adapt Neuromancer to media such as video games, movies, comic books, and even opera. They have mostly been unsuccessful, but a movie adaption is rumored to be in the works.

Neuromancer tells the story of a computer hacker named Case who, after being caught stealing from his employer, has had his ability “jack in” to computers destroyed. He becomes a hustler in the slums of Chiba City, Japan, relying on hard drugs to keep going. After running up numerous debts to crime lords and nearly killing himself with drugs, he is picked up off the street by a mysterious woman named Molly. She pays off the the crime lord and takes him to her boss, Armitage, who repairs Case’s brain and liver, but with a catch. He has had toxin sacs inserted into his liver. If he does not finish the job in time, he won’t be able to jack in anymore.

In the first part of the job, Case and Molly steal a Flatline Construct from the company Sense/Net. The construct contains the consciousness of one of Case’s mentors, named Dixie.

Armitage is shown to have a mysterious past. Case and Molly discover that he served in the Battle of Screaming Fist under the name Corto, and went through a large amount of trauma.

The group heads to the colony Freeside, where an AI named Wintermute resides in the Villa Straylight, a massive home owned by the family/corporation Tessier-Ashpool.

It is revealed that Wintermute is only one half of the AI inside the Villa Straylight. There is one other, which is hinted to be much more powerful, but Wintermute is prevented from merging with it by Turing regulations. Lady 3Jane, a member of the Tessier-Ashpools, has the secret word that will allow them to merge. Molly and Riviera, a member the team recruited in Istanbul, go into the Villa Straylight to retrieve it.

It is revealed that Wintermute has been controlling Case and the others the whole time, through Armitage, Finn, and Case’s old friend Julius Deane. Wintermute took Corto’s shattered personality and rebuilt it into Armitage.

Case and Dixie, the flatline construct, unleash a powerful virus on the Tessier-Ashpool software defenses as tasked by Wintermute. Armitage’s personality begins to break down, and reverts into that of Corto. Responding to this, Wintermute kills him. While in the Villa Straylight, Riviera turns on the group, siding with a ninja and Lady 3Jane to capture Molly. Case and the Zionite pilot Maelcum go after her. Case jacks into cyberspace, and while the virus is destroying the Tessier-Ashpool defenses, retrieves the secret word. Wintermute is able to merge with the other AI. Case’s toxin sacs are removed, and Dixie also gets his reward by being destroyed.

Case has a conflict with himself. He loved cyberspace, and when his brain was sabotaged he lost it. Towards the beginning of the book, Case says that he “still dreamed of cyberspace, hope fading nightly. All the speed he took, all the turns he'd taken and the corners he'd cut in Night City, and still he'd see the matrix in his sleep, bright lattices of logic unfolding across that colorless void…” Case tries unsuccessfully to block everything out and forget, and it puts him in a vulnerable place for Wintermute to exploit him for his plans. While Case is breaching the Tessier-Ashpool defenses in preparation for merging Wintermute with the second AI, he loses contact with Dixie. Case starts to lose hope, but then Wintermute says “Hate'll get you through. So many little triggers in the brain, and you just go yankin' em all.  Now you gotta hate.” Wintermute has manipulated Case to the point where the only option is now for him to hate. Since Case has so many things to hate, such as Wintermute killing Armitage, frustration at the slowly dissolving toxin sacs in his liver, and others, he is able to retrieve the secret word and merge Wintermute and the other AI, Neuromancer.

My favorite character is Wintermute. In the beginning of the book, the job that Armitage has tasked Case to do seems so simple. But as the plot unfolds, you find out that Wintermute is controlling not just Armitage but other people that Case knows to fulfill his own goals, without much care for any of them. When the personality that Wintermute has built on top of Corto into Armitage starts to break down and revert, Wintermute kills Corto and sabotages one of the ships, knowing it is a sacrifice but it will cause less damage in the long run. It’s also fascinating to compare Wintermute to its counterpart, Neuromancer. Neuromancer is able to see patterns in behavior, similar to psychohistory in Asimov’s Foundation but on a much more detailed scale. While Wintermute can only directly interact with humans by changing things in the environment and manipulating certain people, Neuromancer can see patterns about to happen - such as that someone is about to die - and then make it happen to manipulate someone that way.

One of the important themes from Neuromancer is to not rely on something too much, because if it gets taken away, you can be ruined. Case thought he was invincible, so he stole from his company without thinking of the consequences. He ended up losing the most important thing to him, and trying to compensate, ruined his life.

I could relate in some ways to Case’s love of cyberspace. I love computers, and rely on them without thinking for many of the things I do. If I could somehow never use computers again, it would probably be a devastating thing for me.

In my opinion, Neuromancer is without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read. It is full of amazing details in scenery, characters, and plot and has many interesting inventions specific to its universe. I would strongly reccomend it to anyone who has an interest in sci-fi, especially cyberpunk - it practically invented the genre. It is an exciting novel with a lot of depth, and definitely worth a read.

Creative Project

My creative project is a scene from Neuromancer in video game form. Near the beginning of the book, Case asks Dixie if he ever tried to hack an AI. Dixie responds by telling him the story of how he tried, and ended up flatlining(dying, so called because of the flat EEG). To play my game, click the download link and decompress the zip file downloaded. Launch the application extracted from it. For best results, choose 1280x800 resolution, uncheck windowed, and choose “Fantastic” graphics quality, unless you are lacking in the graphics card sector(in which case choose a lower setting). To melt ice, click the mouse button. To move, use the WASD keys. To quit, press esc.

The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most controversial novels that have ever been written. It was written by J. D. Salinger in 1951, who died in 2010, and was based loosely of off of his teenage years. It took him a decade to write it Many people think that it is one of the greatest books that have ever been written, where as others find it be pointless, and to lack any real plot. Despite all of the controversy The Catcher in the Rye was on the New York Times Bestsellers list for twenty nine years. Despite it’s popularity, The Catcher in the Rye has not been made into  a movie because J. D. Salinger did not sell the movie rights.

The Catcher in the Rye is very controversial book. Many people, tried and are still trying to ban the book, and it’s not kept in some book stores and libraries. Many schools consider the book to inappropriate for students. This is due to the fact that the book consists of a lot of bad language, and profanity. It deals with some suggestive themes, such as under age smoking and alcoholism, sex, sexual harassment, and prostitution. When the book was published in 1951 these themes were seen as inappropriate to put in a novel. Times have changed, but the book is still very controversial. Personally I think think that the book is’t that inappropriate and it should not be banned. 

Holden Caulfield is an upper class sixteen year old boy from New York, growing up in the 1940’s. He is cynical, unhappy, and confused, and doesn’t have a lot of direction in life. He doesn’t like many people because he finds them to be “phony”. 

He attends Pencey Prep school in Agerstown Pennsylvania, and he doesn’t like going there because he thinks that it’s full of phonies. He is expelled due to his poor academic performance, and he runs away to New York City.

He stays in New York for two days. During those two days, he basically goes around the city. He goes to bars and clubs, where he drinks, smokes, and meets women. He meets people lots of other people too. The mother of a boy whom he went to school with, a cab driver who argues with him about where the ducks in Central Park go when the lagoon freezes over, and a prostitute. He also runs into people he already new, like a former male english teacher who flirts with him, a girl friend who annoys him, ad his little sister Phoebe who he likes. Holden doesn’t really like most people. The conflict in the book is basically Holden Vs. the world. His character is very interesting, but he’s so cynical and whiney that I don’t really like his character that much. My favorite character would have to be Phoebe because she’s nice, and caring, and she cares about Holden and understands him. Throughout these two days Holden has an opportunity to reflect on his life. He reflects on his past, his future, and the rest of the world. 

It is difficult to summarize the plot of The Catcher in the Rye because there really isn’t one. It’s sort of a personal Journey of teenager growing up and finding his place in the world. Holden is alone in the world, and reader should take away that it is ok to feel alone sometimes, and that everybody does. 

I think I can relate to Holden because I am also  a teenager, and going through the same awkward stage in my life. I’m still trying to find my place inn the world. I hate a lot of people. I find many of them to be obnoxious jerks. I also sometimes feel alone in the world. 

I would say that I liked the book. It really made me think. It kind of shows what it’s like to be a teenager, and what it’s like to be alone and hate everybody. J. D. Salinger has some interesting thoughts and ideas that about the world that he shows in this book. It’s a very unique kind of story. It doesn’t really have much of  a plot, but maybe thats how the story is met to be. I might be nice if there was some sort of bigger climax, but maybe that would ruin its appeal. 

I would highly recommend this book. It  makes you think about the way the worlds is. I would especially recommend it to teenagers, because it deals with the awkward teenage experience. It is very relatable for teenagers. I think that it’s relatable to all people, because in some way or another we all felt that sense of being alone, and against the world that Holden Caulfield felt in The Catcher in the Rye. 

Here's a link to my creative portion. It a collection of poems write from the pint of view of Holden Caulfield, based on events that occur in the book " The Catcher in the Rye"
It does contain some profanity, but any profanity used in the poems is from things he says in the book

Jiwon Choi (Red)

The Sky Is Everywhere By: Jandy Nelson

   The book The Sky is Everywhere is a young adult fiction book written by Jandy Nelson. It was first published on March 9, 2010.  The Sky is Everywhere was a popular book from 2010-2011. This book has a lot of interesting facts including that this book was the author’s first novel that was published. This book was noted as one of YALSA’s 2011 Best Fiction for Young Adults and earned starred reviews from the Publishers Weekly and Voices of Youth Advocates. It was one of NPR’s top five teen reads of the year, ABC 2010 New Voice Pick, one of Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books for 2010. This book was also nominated for the Best young Adult Fiction category on Goodreads. The Sky is Everywhere is about Lennie Walker’s conflicts and struggles in her life after her sister suddenly dies. 

   Lennie Walker always spent time with her older sister named Bailey. She was always tucked safely in Bailey’s shadow until Bailey suddenly dies. After Bailey dies, she finds herself struggling to let go of her sister. Lennie also finds herself struggling to balance the two boys that were nonexistent in her life before. Toby, Bailey’s boyfriend and Joe, the new boy in town. Toby is the boy that comforts her, the boy that helps her remember Bailey. On the other hand, Joe is the musical genius that every girl loves. He takes Lennie’s sorrow away, letting her to let go of her sister when she is with him. Now, her life becomes dangerous. It is like a timer to when the bomb is going to explode. Toby and Lennie does things that make her regret, make her think that she betrayed her sister. In the other hand, she finds out that Joe likes her and she is the happiest girl in the world. One day, when Joe sees Toby and Lennie kissing, she almost ruins her relationship.  Later, Lennie goes through many painful discoveries. She finds out that her mother’s loss is tied in with Bailey’s death. She also discovers her sister’s secrets, the reason why their mother left, and her grandmother's pain. In the end, she tries to understand everything, and she lets go of Bailey.

     My favorite character in the story is Joe because of his personalities. Also, I like him because I think that I want to be a person like Joe; he is a guy that is perfect. He is a musical genius; he can play any instrument well and can compose songs. Moreover, he is handsome, kind, and calm. He is a character that has almost no flaws at all to me. I want to be a person like him, and that is probably why he is my favorite character in the book. 

     Death was the most important theme of the book. The book mostly revolved about Bailey’s death and how Lennie is dealing with this. However, I believe there were other important themes like love and life. Lennie’s grandmother’s love, Joe’s love, Lennie’s love, and Toby’s love. Each character makes mistakes in the story that they regret, and thats how they start to live life. They make mistakes, and learn. This book is really sad, and I had a lot of heartbreaks while reading the story, but the funny and cute moments automatically put a smile on my face. 

   The character that I relate to the most is probably Lennie Walker. I can relate to her because I have felt the way she felt, and I have made mistakes that I regretted like she made mistakes and regretted. When my grandfather died, I couldn’t get over the grief for days and weeks. I always felt sorry because I have never done anything to please him. I wanted a second chance to see him again, to say that I love him, that he doesn’t need to feel lonely. I couldn’t let go of him easily just like Lennie couldn’t let go of her sister easily. Furthermore, I make a ton of mistakes that I wish I can take back after the mistake is done. They aren’t like the mistakes that Lennie made but I know how she felt when she made the mistakes and regretted them. That is probably why I was very fond of Lennie. 

   I really liked the book. It was very sad at times but it was a really cute book. I never read a book like this type before, therefore, it was really new to me. I liked this book because I was able understand Lennie after a while. She went through a lot over the short period of time and I was really drawn to her and of course Joe. 

     Some strengths of this book are the characters in the story and the storyline. I like the fact that the characters in the story make mistakes just like people in reality. Also, the storyline was a topic that I was able to follow easily because I know that many people know the feeling of someone precious to them gone. I was able to feel really emotional during the book, which I think is the biggest strength. However, I didn’t like the ending of the book. I wanted to learn more about the other characters, but the story ended in a disappointing way. I was really mad when I found out when I found out that it was the end of the story because it didn’t really seem like an end of a book. 

     I would definitely recommend this book to others. It is a beautiful book to read. Once you start reading the book, you can’t let go of it. It also makes you want to know what is going to happen next.... Even after the last page of the book. However, if you don’t like romance, you wouldn’t want to read this book because there is a lot of romance and romance stories in the book. 

    Finally, I want to share a few quotes from the story that I thought were touching to me. A few of them were: 

• “The sky is everywhere, it begins at your feet.”
• “My sister will die over and over again for the rest of my life. Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath. I will never stop grieving Bailey because I will never stop loving her. That's just how it is. Grief and love are conjoined, you don't get one without the other. All I can do is love her, and love the world, emulate her by living with daring and spirit and joy.”
• “I wish my shadow would get up and walk beside me.”

  I really love the second quote because I know that every time I lose someone who is really meaningful to me, I will always feel that way. It happens to everyone in this world, losing someone that they really love. Along with, having to get over it. The first quote is what really encompasses the book in my opinion. It even says part of it on the book cover, and I agree. We haven’t thought that the sky is everywhere except the earth, and this quote let me think about this for a moment. Lastly, the third quote is just what I always thought about. Sometimes, I would look down to my shadow on a sunny day, and I would ask myself the same thing as the quote says. 

    Bibliography

"The Sky Is Everywhere." By Jandy Nelson. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. <http://www.theskyiseverywhere.com/praise.php>.

"The Sky Is Everywhere | IndieBound." The Sky Is Everywhere | IndieBound. Indiebound, n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. <http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780803734951/Jandy-Nelson/Sky-Everywhere>.

My Creative Piece

Chapter 38: The Alternate Ending

    After Gram and I are done getting ready for Uncle Big’s wedding, I go outside to my front porch. I see Joe walking to my direction, but not alone. He’s coming with Toby. I walk up to them, fraught with confusion. 

“Hey,” says Joe. 

“Hi, Joe... What’s going on?” I ask him.

The two boys looks at each other and smiles.

“We decided to become friends. I’ll teach him how to skateboard, and he’ll teach me music,” says Toby with a smile on his face.

“What?” I ask, still confused. 

Joe comes up to me, directly looking at me in my eyes. “I don’t want to just forgive you and love you without being comfortable around Toby. I understood you, so... I decided that I Toby should be understood also,” says Joe, “your sister isn’t going to approve me and you if I hate her fiancé.”

I hug him tight, so tight that I feel like my body is bursting into pieces. I hug him tight because I’m thankful that someone like him is in my life. I know that he’s way too good for me, but I know how my life feels without him. 

I smile at them. “Gram is preparing dinner, lets go in you two.” 

   After Joe and Toby leaves, I go into the woods heading towards the cemetery. The hot afternoon sun is blazing upon everything; the trees, the grass, the flowers, and over the graves. I walk over to Bailey’s grave and sit down beside the gravestone. I reach for my bag and take out the letters that Gram wrote for mom over the last sixteen years. I don’t want Bailey to be the only person not knowing anything about our mother. After all, she was one of the people desperate to find mom. Unlike me. I open her little cabinet door and I see something lustrous. I reach in and pull out a ring. Then, I feel the pain that I felt all over again. I imagine Bailey having her baby, married to Toby. I imagine her wearing the ring that Toby got for her. I imagine her smiling to the sky, happily. I imagine her reading the notes that Gram wrote for mom. Then, I imagine her, Toby, and her baby as one family. Without anyone being hurt, or sick. 

     I miss you, I tell her, You’re going to miss out on so many things. I look at the ring for the last time and I put it back in. I pack my bag and get up. I put one hand on her gravestone, starting to tear up. I start to walk back to my house when I see Bailey with a beautiful smile on her face. I see her ring on her finger, and her stomach that is sticking out a bit. I run up to her and hug her.

“What took you so long?” I asked Bailey.

“Lennie, I’m not missing out on anything. I actually like where I am; the peaceful, painless sky. Even if I’m in a different place from where you are, I’ll always be right next to you. Now, don’t worry about me and go to where you belong,” says Bailey. 

     I realize that I’m crying now, I know that it has to happen. So, I wipe my tears and let go because I know that I didn’t lose anyone. My sister, Gram, Big, my new brother, Toby, and my boyfriend, Joe. They are all right here, next to me. 

Rugeiatu Bah

Esta la reseña es sobre un niño que convertio a los 12 años. Tenia que ir a la guerra pero no quiere porque tiene los seres queridos. También sucedió durante la guerra civil, familia pobre que está tratando muy duro a través de la guerra. En mi ensayo  gustaría hablar sobre cómo esta historia se conecta con mi vida como un niño durante mi guerra civil que deprimente También, el una tragedia y las luchas de huir de los rebeldes, porque pasé por lo mismo y cuánto derechos que tomaba distancia de nosotros, tratados como animales.

En el año 1980, habia una  guerra civil. Eso sucedio en elSalvador. Esta guerra era triste, mucha gente dejaron a amigos y familia. Proteger Las casas de la familias fueron destruidas por soldados. En El salvador participó en la guerra. Cuando tenian 12 años, los soldados vienen en la busca de ellos a los niños soldados a luchar contra su pueblo, a veces, a sus propios amigos de la infancia. Esta película es Chava, que vive con su familia. Es de uno de los que cuidan las casa por  los problemas que dejó su padre con la familia. Por eso, Chava y su familia pueden no intento hablar por los rebeldes, así que por todos los medios Chava intentó ocultar, a veces él y sus amigos se quedaban  a permanecer allí hasta que los rebeldes hojas.

   Clip 1: tiempo de 1:30:03-1:35:03

5: Derecho a la no tortura esta parte fue la parte cuando los rebeldes llegaron a este lugar en la noche donde se alojen el Chava y sus amigos por la noche. Era el medio de la noche y empezaron a disparar y matar a la gente que ayudaba a ellos, y caminan a un lugar bajo la lluvia y sus pies fue sufriendo no toman cualquier roturas o qué tan nunca.

 Clip 2: tiempo 20-26

26: Derecho a la educacion se trata sobre el derecho a tener educación, cada niños asistieron a la escuela bastante.De hecho, este donde los rebeldes solían tener los muchachos de la edad, van a la escuela y obtener la lista. Además, su educación fueron bastante bien, aprendieron lo que todo el mundo aprendió. Por lo tanto, esta regla no estaba mal, hasta que sacar a los muchachos de la escuela para luchar.

Clip 3:30-37 este clip es el derecho a vivir libre y tener justicia. Los rebeldes no les dio el derecho a tener estas cosas porque quemar un montón de sus casas. A veces venían y sólo se rompe en casa de pueblo, deseo me siento está mal. Puedo relacionar esto porque durante la guerra civil de mi país los rebeldes lo mismo. Duele ser tratado así y no hay nada que puede usted podría hacer al respecto.

Contar la Historia,  aprendido mucho de este proyecto y de la película. Como dije antes, puedo relacionar a esta película mucho más que nada porque sé cómo se siente. Durante la guerra de la rebelde de mi país la rebeles apoderar hicieron estas cosas a mi familia, amigos, etc.. Se llevaron cosas de nosotros, nuestros derechos, en nuestro propio país. Nuestro pueblo hizo estas cosas a nosotros y Chav propio hicieron exactamente lo mismo a ellos. Esta película es un peliculón.

El propósito de este proyecto es a muestran que el mundo es injusto en algunos lugares. En particular, los Estados Unidos necesitan de ayuda. Se dice que la problema no existe. Al contrario, la problema sorprendentemente todavía existe. Esto es muestra en la película, cuando los trabajadores eran tratados como cerdos. Fue difícil para ellos encontrar apoyo, pero al final, lo hicieron.

Esta película es acerca de un personaje llamado María en la clase obrera. Ella comenzó a trabajar para una empresa llamada Ángel Cleaning Company, ubicada en Los Angeles. Como lo veo yo, ellos no tratan sus trabajadores muy bien y hablaron mal a ellos. Ellos no tienen los derechos que merecen. Entonces, comenzaron la manifestación por un cambio. No hay más remedio. Todo esto tuvo lugar en la década de 2000.

Artículos 4, 5, y 9 se rompieron en la escena donde Pérez manda los trabajadores a volver al trabajo sin descanso:

Artículo 4 dice que la esclavitud está prohibida y inutil. En la película, los obreros son tratados como esclavos en muchos aspectos. Uno es que no se les da un descanso. Históricamente, los esclavos eran obligados a trabajar sin parar. Por lo tanto, esto puede ser considerado una forma de esclavitud.

Artículo 5 dice que nadie debe ser tratado de una manera cruel. No dar a los trabajadores tiempo para relajarse es una cosa muy cruel hacer. Además, la forma que Pérez habló con ellos en el clip era muy antipático. Hablaba como si fueran perros, no las personas. Hay podría lograr de una manera mejor sin duda.

Artículo 9 dice que si alguien está en el exilio, debe tener una razón legítima. En este escenario, tacaño Pérez manda todo para volver a trabajar. No sólo envió las personas que asistieron a la reunión. Decidió que todo el mundo era culpable. Esto es injusto para las personas que no tenían nada hacer con la reunión.

En esta película, he aprendido que los derechos humanos son violados todos los días sin que se note. Estoy preocupado por los que tienen que sufrir en esto. Me parece que nos centramos en el trato injusto en todos partes pero los Estados Unidos. Debemos escoger a fijar nuestros propios problemas antes ayudar otros. Entonces, estoy feliz que visto esta película. Me enseñó sobre algo que no creo que normalmente sobre. Ahora que he completado esta unidad, sueño con el mundo finalmente ser perfecto. Sin embargo, dudo que va a pasar. Mientras las personas apoyar a las empresas que traten mal sus trabajadores, el ciclo continuará.