Blog Post # 5 - Social Issues

{April 27, 2012 }

Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. New York: Scholastic Press, 2010. Print.

Social Issues

     The issue that I am addressing is within the book called Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I am using this book, because there is a rebellion between the Capitol and the other Districts now that Katniss has been taken from the hunger games. There is also a distribute between Katniss and Peeta because he has "betrayed" District 12 ( now 13 because 12 has been destroyed ).
 
        " What they want is for me to truly take on the role they designed for me. The symbol of revolution. The Mockingjay. "  ( Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins p. 10 )

     This line of text represents the rebellion between District 13 and The Capitol. Katniss is the "leader" of the revolution against Capitol, she is more or less like the promoter and motivator for the other Districts to rebel with her. This also causes problems for Districts, because since everyone is in a state of chaos, everyone is short supplies. Medical treatment is hard to come by, food is also causing poverty and death through some Districts. This is causing an issue for those who are injured in battle and cannot receive treatment.
    Without this rebellion in the book, there would be nothing for Suzanne Collins to write about. If there was no rebelling district, mainly District 13, then Katniss would have died or hurt badly inside the Hunger Game Arena. This would have merely been sort of a knock off for the first book if Katniss was to live. It would also anger many readers if Katniss was to die during Mockingjay. This would also incite readers not to read the series because of it's crappy ending. Therefore, if there was no rebelling between districts, Katniss would not have been saved by District 13, and would probably have not lived to see the end of the Games.

Blog Post # 4 - Significance.

{ April 2, 2012 }

Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. Scholastic; New York, 2009. Book. 

Significance Of...

WARNING : CONTAINS SPOILERS. 

Two Significant Elements

      Katniss's childhood memories. 

         When Katniss was small, she grew up in a very poor district. Living off the land was something of a crucial daily routine in order for her to feed her family. When she was young, Peeta (the male fighter from the same District), had met her and had given her bread that he had burned. Bread was very, very rare for Katniss to acquire, he saved her life. " To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed. " (Collins, The Hunger Games 32)

      Because of this experience, Katniss feels more of a connection to Peeta within The Hunger Games. Her memories also tells us as the reader that she has met Peeta and has a deeper connection with him than initially realized.

    Memories of the Hunger Game.

           In Catching Fire, the second book in the series, Katniss and Peeta have to return to the Games, this time with other victors instead of new contestants. 

   "  I outsmarted his sadistic Hunger Games, made the Capitol look foolish, and consequently undermined his control. " (Collins, Catching Fire 18)

Because of the way Peeta and her acted when the attended The Hunger Games for the first time, they made a fool of the Game Makers by forcing them to make a choice between two winners or none, as both Peeta and Katniss were ready to eat Midnight berries, that were poisonous and lethal.  Since Katniss and Peeta had to return to the games, they already understand that it is not going to be an easy task. They also understand that the Game Makers are not on their side this time, but are hoping for Peeta and Katniss to fall weak to the other players. 

Blog Post # 3 - Describe and Define Character.

{ March 14, 2012 }   

  Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2009. Print.

{ K A T N I S S   E V E R D E E N }

 Stubborn :
        Having or showing dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, esp. in spite of good arguments or reasons.

Two Antonyms - Yielding, Willing.
Two Synonyms - Pertinacious, Obstinate.

      " Who are you, anyway, to decide how much pain he can stand! " (Collins, Catching Fire, 114). When Gale was injured at the whipping, Katniss had followed him to her mother's kitchen where she was trying to heal his wounds. Katniss refused to leave his side and was even forced out of the kitchen by Peeta. Her stubbornness has to be her best personality trait, this trait is what makes Katniss Everdeen so special.


 Determined
      Having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it.

Two Antonyms - Begin, Start.
Two Synonyms -  Decided, Resolved.

         " I outsmarted his sadistic Hunger Games, made the Capitol look foolish, and consequently undermined his control."( Collins, Catching Fire, 18 ). When Katniss entered the Hunger Games for the first time, she was determined to make a fraud and fool out of the Capitol. And, by the end of the Hunger Games; when it came down to Peeta and Katniss being alive, she decided to toy with the Capitol. She knew fully that the Capitol had to have a winner, and if both of them died, there would be no victor. So, Katniss was determined to make the Capitol send bother Peeta and herself home as victors of the Hunger Games.


Motivational
      The general desire or willingness of someone to do something.

Two Antonyms -Desire, action.
Two Synonyms - Depression, Discouragement.

      No matter what situation Katniss was in or who she is with, she would always motivate the group with positive and (mostly) negative comments. " Look if you wanted to be babied, you should have asked Peeta. "( Collins, Catching Fire, 14 ) This quote is a good example of this because she is telling her followers that she wasn't going to give them an easy way out, that they would have to work and work hard in order to succeed. They would need courage and motivation to do so.


     

Blog Post # 2 - Identify and Sort

{ February 24, 2012 }

White, Kiersten. Paranormalcy. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010. Print.

Identify and Sort.

        Characters:

A few characters that are in my novel, are Evie (Protagonist), Vivian (Antagonist) and Lend.

         Crisis:

  The Crisis, in the point I am right now, is that Evie is having troubles deciding whether she is a paranormal or not. She is not classified as one, and doesn't know who to believe any more. Vivian has the same eye color, one that is not a normal color for a human, or any paranormal to have. Vivian has the same burning flame inside her soul, around her heart. But, Vivian has been killing a lot of paranormals, and Evie fears that she will end up the way Vivian has.

        Suspense:

The time that I felt suspense, was when Reth, a faery, showed up and asked Evie to change his name in order for her to set Rend, her crush, free. Reth, without his real name, cannot be commanded to do things against his will, and Reth has a strange obsession with Evie. In releasing Reth, Evie would be in danger, seeing as she could no longer command him to do as she says. Therefore, he could do whatever he wanted to her, whenever he wanted to.

        Setting:

Right now, the setting is at Rend's house, where Evie is trying to live the normal life of a teenager, away from all the melodrama that has been happening at IPCA. His house isn't much out of the ordinary, accept that his house is near a lake, where his mother lives, and a forest, where Evie and Lend shared their second kiss. ( Oo la la ).

         Mood:

The mood right now, between Evie and Lend's family, is complicated. Right now, Evie is trying to battle her own insecurities, but has yet to tell David (Lend's father) and Lend, what is actually happening. This, is making the atmosphere at Lend's house, more of a tense, and stressful environment for Evie.

---

"Eyes like streams of melting snow." ( White, Kiersten)

In the novel, a banshee ( mystical being ), has said the following quote. When Lend first met Evie, Evie has described her eyes in being like "streams of melting snow." What was strange, is that Evie had never heard the phrase prior to Lend telling her about the prophecy. This is significant, because, in hearing the entire riddle, Evie begins to wonder if she is going to end up evil, and "Kill, Kill, Kill."

Blog Post # 1 - Identifying.

{ February 17, 2012.}

Myracle, Lauren. Bliss. New York: Amulet Book, 2008.Print.

Identifying

There are three qualities I expect as a reader of said novel. The first, that it is interesting and can catch me when first reading it. Books that don't catch me within the first two chapters, I will not continue to read. I am a huge fan of books about teenagers and romance stories. I feel, that I can understand and connect to the characters in the story. In doing so, I can understand the book with more detail, where I can then make textual, worldly, and of course personal connections to the book. The last quality, is that the novel has lots of action and suspense. If the writer can not keep me motivated to read the book, to me, it is not worth the effort or time to force myself upon reading it. Therefore, the three qualities I expect, as a reader, is that it is interesting and can catch me when I first read it, that there are teens and romance and that the novel has suspense as well as adventure and action.
The novel I am currently reading, and that I am almost finished, Blhiss, has all the three qualities that I have listed above. The book is in the perspective of a teenager named Blhiss, who has an unnatural ability to hear the voice of a dead woman at her new school. This novel, also contains a bit of drama between her two friend groups, as well as romance between Blhiss and an boy named Mitchell, who is a year older than her. And finally, Blhiss has yet to discover that her 'friend' is actually plotting to use her as a sacrifice in order to revive the woman who died at her school. 
Therefore, this novel contains all of the qualities I have listed above.