The Soloist 23-31

Chapters 23-31 were in a way the most climatic parts of the entire book. At first it appears to be just another happy fairy tale ending. Nathaniel Ayers's life had a complete turn around. He went from being a poor homeless man on the dirty streets of Skid Row to living in an apartment with his own studio. He was all alone with no one by his side and know he had many people looking after him, for instance his new great friend Steve Lopez. Steve helped Nathaniel make it thorough tough times to get to a better place.

I thought that these few chapters would be all happy and gushy but then something totally unexpected happened. In chapters 25 and 27 Nathaniel had one of his episodes and verbally attacked Steve Lopez. At one point he even threatened to kill Steve if he ever came close to his apartment again. I would imagine that this would truly break Steve's heart. Even though he was well aware of the kind of symptoms Nathaniel had Steve had never seen one so close. I think this situation showed Steve that no matter how much help, love, and support he gives Nathaniel that he will never get better because he cannot be changed.

The ending section of the Soloist was were a lot of problems and issues were resolved. Nathaniel Ayers has his own apartment and a studio where he can produce all the music he wants. He has inspiration from old friends and even a few new ones. Although this is the end of the book it is just the beginning for Nathaniel. These last few chapters were the happily ever after that every feel god story needs.

Points To Focus On
- Grammar
- Focus Point
- Sentence Structure
- Content and Ideas

The Soloist 13-22

In Part I of the Soloist it appeared to be centered slightly around Lopez and his slow connection with Nathanial. But in Part II I believe that Nathaniel was more of the main focus. For starters we are given information about Nathaniel's childhood. He grew up with a normal life living with his mother, father and sisters. We then are told about the struggle he went through when his father left his family to remarry. Nathaniel went through a lot at that moment dealing with the emptiness of his father. His mother soon remarried which helped continue his struggle. He was forced to move away so his mom could be close to her new significant other. Although there was a new man in his life he connected to his teacher Mr. Moon in that sort of way. He wanted to make him proud like he was his own son.

Another reason I think that Part II was centered around Nathaniel is because of the quote from Lopez in chapter 14. Lopez asks himself "Is he happy?" This thought stayed with me through most of my reading from chapter 13-22. The question to his happiness is a very interesting question. Nathaniel is a homeless man living on the streets. He is alone with no money or food. He has no shelter and carries his few items in a shopping cart. You would think that the answer to this question would be no, Nathaniel is very unhappy. But I don't think that's the case. When Nathaniel is first told to sleep at the Lamp is was very much against it. He states that he much rather sleep on Skid Row where no one can steal his stuff. You would think that being given the option of sleeping indoors would def beat on the streets but not for Nathaniel. He does eventually give in an begins to sleep at the Lamp 3 nights per week but it takes so extra effort. I feel as though being happy is a state of mind and Nathaniel is happy because he chooses to be. He has his music which makes him happy and that is enough.

Points To Focus On
- Grammar
- Focus Point
- Sentence Structure
- Content and Ideas

The Soloist 7-12

During English class this week we analyzed the first six chapters in the book The Soloist. We thought about ideas, questions, and arguments that we felt lied in the book. Then in pairs we discussed each point. For this weekend's blog I would like to further discuss each point discussed in class.

To start off I would like to discuss how The Soloist compares to other books we read this year. The Soloist was to me one of the best books we read this year. The book had a certain flow that made it easy to read while still keeping our attention. This was very surprising because The Soloist is a biography. Not to be bias but it appears that most biographies are very boring and don't keep the attention of the reader, The Soloist has that exception. Every page gives you new information that makes the story steady build.

Another idea that was brought up in class was who does he write to and who does he write for. I think he is writing to tell the story of Nathanial Ayers and spread awareness of other people like him. The story began as just a simple column entry that blossomed into something much more. Lopez began to see Nathaniel as more than a bum who happened to play the violin well. I also believe that in a way Lopez is writing for himself so that he can never forget the memories an times him an Nathaniel spent together.

Points To Focus On
- Grammar
- Focus Point
- Sentence Structure
- Content and Ideas

The Soloist 1-6

So far I find the Soloist to be one of the best books we've read this year. I find this book to be real page turner and an easy read. I find it nice to just read a book to uncover a story and this being an non-fictional novel helps. I am very fascinating with this story mainly for the reason that it is a true story and I want to see how Nathaniel Ayers ends up.

This story begins with Steve Lopez walking in downtown LA. He hears music which turns his attention to Nathaniel Ayers who is playing rather nicely on a two-stringed violin. The interaction between the two of them start because Lopez thinks he will make a great story for his column, but it soon becomes more than that. When Lopez learns that Nathaniel attended Julliard he begins to look more into it. That when he begins to talk to different people who were intertwined in Nathanial's life including his beloved sister. It is around now Lopez learns of Nathanial's crash in Julliard because he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. The new emotions and feelings Lopez begins to have for Nathanial prove that this is now more than just writing a good column but that he is truly trying to help him out of love. The bond that the two of them begins to show and I truly admire it.

I also enjoy the relationship between Nathanial and music. The kind of passion that is shown throughout the first 6 chapters is astounding. Nathanial went through so much but his love for music carried him through it all. This is the type of passion that you don't see much often so for this to be a true story it is defiantly breath taking.

Points To Focus On
- Grammar
- Focus Point
- Sentence Structure
- Content and Ideas

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye was a different type of book then ones we read this year. The story was narrated in first person by the narrator, a young man named Holden Caulfield, as he looked back on things that occurred in his life. Holden was a very undetermined and troubled boy. Holden has just been expelled from his fourth school because of his lack of effort and determination. He was told to wait three days to go back home but after a day full of annoyance and violence he decides to go back earlier. We truly see and understand the life of Holden as he describes events that occurred in his past. Holden continuously talks about his dead brother, Allie, and a girl he had feelings for, Jane. It was very hard for me to figure out whether I liked Holden or not. At times I found him very rude and annoying but other times I saw the good side in him. For example, when he is talking to one of his ex schoolmates parents. When asked about the child he lies telling how excellent the child is. These are the times when you can see Holden growing up and becoming a mature teenager. The part of the book when you really see Holden "man up" is when he watches his little sister, Phoebe, ride a carousel. He almost completely breaks down into tears because he realizes how much he truly cares and loves her.

This book surprised me in a lot of ways. When it began I thought that Holden would just be the average "slacker" or "non achiever" that we all come in contact with at some point. But some parts truly shocked me when the other side of him showed and you were able to see the struggle and difficulties he went through. This made it easier to understand the kind of attitude that he showed everyone. In a way I felt bad for him. Going from school to school because he never truly fit in or in a way didn't want to fit in. I was just glad that by the end of the book he felt a whole new sense of pride and determination to do better and make it big in the world.

Points To Focus On
- Grammar
- Focus Point
- Sentence Structure
- Content and Ideas

Death of a Salesmen

In "Death of a Salesmen" there are many characters each with their own set of issues. Willy's hopes and dreams for his future was to create a career for his son, Biff. He wants Biff to have a career where he is very well respected and wealthy. He had a very bad life and he wished more for his sons. Willy thinks his son is worth more than his current life style and he wan ts him to be way more accomplished. Willy's current life style also is one to be looked upon.l Being only a travel salesman he does not make a lot. HE also suffers from hallucinations and random aggressive behavior. This makes for the confrontation and drama of the play. HE is not able to discuss with his son Biff without getting upset or upsetting Biff in return.

Willy's wife Linda is the obedient type. She tries to be a good wife and a good mother to her sons. Even with Willy's aggression and mistreatment towards her, she appears to be the only one who truly supports him. She has to steady deal with his hallucinations and horrible behavior alone because all of her children have moved on with their life. You can tell by the way she deals with things that she is just so tired and emotional unstable. I also feel as though she is upset with her children for making her deal with this all alone. Sometimes I feel as though she unleashes this anger when she confront her children about their poor treatment of their father. She hopes that Willy will succeed in his hopes and dreams for his future and family but she isn't sure if he will achieve this goal.

Biff is the older brother and son of Willy and Linda. Biff was the star of his high school football team and had a scholarship waiting for him after he graduated. Since Biff failed his math class all he had to do was make up the credits but attending summer school. He was going to attend, until he found out a disturbing detail about his father's actions. Willy was having am affair and it broke Biff's heart. After that Biff went from job to job, stealing, and even spending time in jail. Willy sees Biff as his biggest disappoint and because of this the two are constantly in fights concerning Biff's life.

Happy is the youngest son. He is very content and successful. Happy has a steady career, unlike Biff, so has no problems with Willy. Happy has a very stable life and because of it he risks it with sleeping with multiple women. Although Happy does have a comfortable life and life style he invites Biff to join in and work with him.

Points To Focus On
- Grammar
- Focus Point
- Sentence Structure
- Content and Ideas

blogger.. my thoughts

Looking back on the past few weeks of using blogger I have a few thoughts. I feel as though it was very useful and valuable to me as a student, reader, and a writer. Being able to read my classmates' writing ideas helped me to become a better writer. I was able to understand the question or prompt better after seeing the way others directed their papers. A few times I would be confused of what I was asked to do but after seeing what others put I was able to understand the question and write a paper according.

I enjoy the blogger form of writing better than what I have done in the past. I enjoy putting my work up for people to see and well as I enjoy seeing others. This way I feel as though my work has a stronger purpose because not only with the teacher see it but my peers will too. This gives me a stronger will and motive to do good work. The comments they leave help me to better my writing in both a postive and negative way. The corrections people give me help me to further analyze my work. This is a good touch and resource to become a better writer.

I personally don't think it changed the community between my class or the other class it was just a way to communicate to one another and distribute our ideas. I do feel as though reading what the other class writes is a good new concept. I enjoy looking at the other classes posts and seeing the way they differ from my classrooms. Blogger in a way does combine our classrooms with helps us to expand our writing style.

The Great Gatsby - Frewrite!

For this week's post I have decided to choose the three quotes and use them to reflect on the story, The Great Gatsby. I will also compare them to Fitzgerald's life based on my opinion of their meaning. The first quote I am going to analyze is the following:

“All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.”
This quote applies to Fitzgerald's life in particular because as a writer he was probable referring to himself. When writing a book it takes a lot from the writer. Patience and wisdom. And that continuous struggle for greatness. This situation is similar to swimming and holding your breath. Your trying to get somewhere and trying vigorously to be patient to do it. So that when your book is finished or when your done playing in the water you can look back and know that holding your breath and the nights of agony were all worth it.

“My idea is always to reach my generation. The wise writer...writes for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmasters of ever afterward.” This quote is Fitzgerald analyzing his own writing techniques. When I read this quote I thought back to the "Great Gatsby" and recalled how the story was set up around the 1920s, the time Fitzgerald grew up in. The novel discussed things that were happening all around him. The remarkable Jazz Age, the tragedy of World War I,levels of prosperity during the 1920s, and the high need for alcohol. Fitzgerald said that his idea is always to reach his generation and he did that outstandingly in "The Great Gatsby."

"That was always my experience—a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy's school; a poor boy in a rich man's club at Princeton…I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works." This quote immediately turns my attention to "The Great Gatsby." The whole book's point of view was based upon a man who wasn't the richest guy in the world surrounded by some of the richest. Fitzgerald uses his personal life to set the storyline and background information for the main character in his greatest work, "The Great Gatsby."

Quotes from "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"All I kept thinking about, over and over, was ‘You can’t live forever; you can’t live forever.’" (page 36, chapter 2)

This quote was said by Mrs. Wilson when she describes the first time she meet Tom. Their first interaction with one another was when they were on the train. It was said that they began to make very flirty eye connection with one another. He then approaches her and they share a taxi cab and go home together. All awhile this is going on Mrs. Wilson is thinking" You cant live forever; you cant live forever." I really like this quote because I totally agree with it. You cannot live for the future because who knows if u make it that far. You have to live everyday as it is your last. Life if full of risks and bad decisions but those things make your life complete. Some day you will be old, hopefully, and you need those types of memories to look back on and laugh and say 'What was I thinking.' You only get one life so have fun with it you never know when its going to end.

A Lady
Music
The Taxi

Amy Lowell (1874-1925), born in Brookline, Massachusetts. She left private school at 17 to care for her elderly parents. Her poetic career began in 1902 when she saw Eleonora Duse, a famous actress, perform on stage. Overcome with Eleonora's beauty and talent, she wrote her first poem addressed to the actress. They met only a couple times and never developed a relationship, but Eleonora inspired many poems from Amy and triggered her career. Ada Russell, another actress, became the love of Amy's life. She met Ada in 1909 and they remained together until Amy's death in 1925. Amy wrote many, many poems about Ada. In the beginning, as with her previous poems about women, she wrote in such a way that only those who knew the inspiration for a poem would recognize its lesbian content. But as time went on, she censored her work less and less. By the time she wrote Pictures of the Floating World, her poems about Ada were much more blatantly erotic. The series "Planes of Personality: Two Speak Together" chronicles their relationship, including the intensely erotic poem "A Decade" that celebrates their tenth anniversary.

Lowell’s poem “A Lady” she is writing to one of her female lovers. She is describing her beauty and discussing everything she loves about her. For example, Lowell states, “and I grow mad with gazing at your blent colours.” Most of Lowell’s poems are said to be about her female lover and the relationship that they share.

Lowell’s poem “Music” to me is a complete free verse. It has no structure, rhyme scheme, or meter. TO me “Music” read as a short story. But what really attracted to me to this poem was detail she used in writing. The way she described this man playing his flute with such vivid images kept me indulged in her poem. The tone in the poem was very calm and passionate.

Lowell's poem "The Taxi" was a very beautiful poem. The care and passion shown through this piece of writing was breathtaking . In this poem Lowell shows the love and affection she shows for another person. The first line "When I go away from you" sets the whole tone and feeling of the poem. Just from this opening line I can sense that the poem with portray love in a powerful and visual way.

I personally do not understand the idea behind a poem or poet being distinctly American. I don't understand how you can tell if the writing or the person behind the writing is from a certain place. Lowell is American but when reading her work you wouldn't ask yourself where she was from because you can easily get lost in her words and taking to a place far away anyway. But in my personal opinion poetry is poetry no matter where you are from.

kate chopin

The writings of Kate Chopin do not compare to the ones of America Romantics that we read. Romanticism greatly differs from the Realism that Kate Chopin bases her two stories “Lilacs” and “A Pair of Silk Stockings” on. Romanticism is the idea of using strong emotion and imagination to describe the true beauty of nature. Kate Chopin’s “Lilacs” does have a hint of Romanticism however. She uses images that describe the Romanticism idea by stating “And I never smell the sweet scented honeysuckle without living again through the blessed day of my first communion" and other descriptive images like “At the very first whiff of a lilac blossom, I am gone! There is no holding me back.” With these lines incorporated in her story you would assume that maybe it would be based on American Romanticism, but after reading the rest of her story you realize that it has the entire feel of American Realism. American Realism is based upon the idea in the visual arts and literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation. In the story “Lilacs” Adrienne banned from the convent because of her life style. She is thought of to be too wild and is not accepted by the other nuns. And the story “A Pair of Silk Stockings” deals with the idea of putting yourself before others. Both of these stories deal with reality and ideas that people go through on an average day.

Kate Chopin’s stories pertain to the idea of a woman’s search for selfhood. This theme appears in both stories, “Lilacs” and “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” In “Lilacs” A woman named Adrienne lives a double life. She stays in Paris with her servant Sophie and lives a life full of “sin.” But when she returns back to the convent she tries to redirect her life by the way of the nuns. Mother Superior of the convent finds out about her other side and she is banned from the convent forever. The search that Adrienne made toward self discovery left her without half of herself. This story shows the line between being yourself and trying to find yourself. In the story “A Pair of Silk Stockings”, Mrs. Sommers runs across fifteen dollars her first thoughts were to spend it on her kids. But when the day ends it appears that all the money is gone and she is left with plenty of things she bought for herself. Mrs.Sommers tries to be a better mom for her children but ends up getting caught in the idea of spoiling herself. Both of the women in her story go on a personal search and both of them fail in one way or the other.

I don’t think that Kate Chopin is writing for just one set of readers. I think that she is honestly writing for whoever wants to read it. In both stories, “Lilacs” and “A Pair of Silk Stockings”, her writing deals with situations that women could find themselves in. In “Lilacs” a woman finds herself caught in an internal lie. In the end she ends up being banned from something bigger than herself, the convent. In “A Pair of Silk Stockings” a woman finds herself splurging on herself rather than taking care of her family. Both of these stories do use woman as the main characters but not only them go through situations like this. I think Kate Chopin’s stories are written to give advice to people going through real life problems.

As Kate Chopin’s reader, her stories did have a strong sense of woman life issues. I enjoyed reading “A Pair of Silk Stockings” more because I could better relate to the issue. I understand how hard it is to put others before yourself. So reading how the story unfolded didn’t blame me much.

“A dollar or two should be added to the price usually paid for Janie's shoes, which would insure their lasting an appreciable time longer than they usually did. She would buy so and so many yards of percale for new shirt waists for the boys and Janie and Mag. She had intended to make the old ones do by skilful patching. Mag should have another gown. She had seen some beautiful patterns, veritable bargains in the shop windows. And still there would be left enough for new stockings -- two pairs apiece -- and what darning that would save for a while! She would get caps for the boys and sailor-hats for the girls. The vision of her little brood looking fresh and dainty and new for once in their lives excited her and made her restless and wakeful with anticipation.”
After reading that paragraph I was drawn into the story of “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” The idea that a woman found money and her first thought was her children was very touching to me. I really hoped that Mrs.Sommers would go through with her plan. I was very disappointed when she ended up spending it all on herself. The way Chopin made Mrs.Sommers appear I really believed that she would do the right thing. The theme really shined reading this story.

Does writing have the power to enact social change?

I feel as though writing does have the power to enact social change. When people write they put all of their strong emotions and feelings of paper, so when someone reads their work it can have a strong effect on them. People use writing as a way to get their point across. Whether for something general like talking about a basketball game or telling why they feel as though the war should be over. Writing gives you a voice and helps others to understand your point. So if there appears to be a lot of writing about a certain matter it can really get people talking. For example," The Bombing of Baghdad" is a poem written by June Jordan to speak out against the first war in Iraq.The idea that something as simple as a poem could enact a social change might be hard to understand,until you read it. When she uses phrases like "And this is for the victims of the bombing of Baghdad because the enemy traveled from your homeland pieces of children pieces of sand" makes the reader see how devastating war can truly be. And although this one writing piece could not enact a social change, it could lead to a step further and with others help you never know what could be accomplished.

Asiana Gilchrist
January 26, 2009
Mr. Fiorini
English
The Price of a Child


Dear Bennie,
I miss you so much. I can’t wait to see you because I promise you I will come back for you. Well since I left you I have been through a lot. While traveling to Nicaragua with Pryor we stopped in Philadelphia. Pryor left us alone in a hotel while he went off to dinner so that night we escaped. A man named Nig-Nag overheard us talking and gave us help. So now I am staying with nice lady I call Aunt Bea. She is a free African American whose family, the Quicks, is helping to keep Mattie, Etta, and me safe. I also have changed my name from Ginnie Gray to Mercer. Harriet Quick told me that this helped to symbolize my freedom. Well until next time son, just remember to be strong and that I am not going anywhere without you.
Love always,
Your mother, Mercer Gray


Dear Bennie,
I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve seen my beautiful boy. I miss you so much. I also miss Etta and Mattie, I was told that us being together was dangerous for our safety so we had to split up. They are still in Philadelphia while I’m traveling with Zilpha Quick to her home in West Chester. The Quick family is very sweet and very nice. I especially like Tyree Quick. He is unhappily married to a woman named Blanche. But when Tyree is with me there is such a different type of special connection that we share. But my main priority is getting back to you and getting my family into freedom. Nothing else is on my mind but that. I miss you and your other siblings so much. I hate having our family this split up I feel so incomplete but only for now because soon I will have you in my arms again. I love you so much Bennie Gray and I will be with you shortly. Stay strong my boy.

Love always,
Your mother, Mercer Gray



Dear Bennie,
I feel like this is going to be my last letter love. Things are getting really intense around here. I visited a woman named Eliza Ruffin, she is the president of the Ladies Anti- Slavery Society, and asked me to sign an affidavit. The affidavit states that I left Pryor with my own free will. The down side of this is that I might have to appear in court, which would threaten my freedom, but for some odd reason I agreed anyway. After the filing of the affidavit, I remained in New York at a boarding house until I left to attend a trail for Williamson Still. After this trail I was driven to Mary Sterlings’ house because I was told it would help keep me safe. The best news I have from these few days was that I was reunited with Mattie, Etta, and the Quicks. Although it seems that everything was happy I have some tragic news. Nig-Nag was badly beaten up and died in Church. After the court charged me as free the Quicks set up a party in my honor but Nig- Nag just got way to drunk and wasn’t able to defend himself. That’s why I told you that I wasn’t sure if I would get any more letters out. I’m on my way trying to save you and then take us all somewhere where we can live our new free lives. I love you son and don’t forget that. It’s finally time for me to see you and I can’t wait until then. Stay strong and be brave I will be with you soon.

Love always,
Your mother Mercer Gray