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
Friday, May 29, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
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
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
Friday, May 8, 2009
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
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
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
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
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
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