EmilyH

Emily H

Tone:New sisters: Cheerful; New Bonds: Sentimental; No Cure: Hopeless Mood: Sympathetic, Gloomy Subject: Hope Theme: Make the most of the time you are given with people, even if the bond is newly formed and threatened by the criminal we call time.

AP Lit: Bucketlist!

1.)The Art of Hearing Heartbeats-Jan Phillipp Sendker: After reading all that it would allow me to on Amazon, I couldn’t get enough of the style. For the longest time I have wished that I could find a book that reached out and pulled at my sappy heart-strings by how beautifully written it was. The  mysterious love story of a father who disappears without warning leaving his wife and daughter to fend for themselves, and the hope and fulfilling warmth of the heart moments seem to be different then the stereotypical fiction that I have found in book after book. Being set in Burma, this book seems to be unique and just what I have been looking for. I have already bought it and can’t wait to get started!

 2.) Monument 14-Emmy Laybourne: I have always been interested in the “end of the world” apocalypse movies and books, so when I found this one I read all 12 pages that were displayed on Amazon and was absolutely amazed, terrified, engrossed, and repulsed all at the same time. At the very beginning I was in love with this author because instead of the normal apocalyptic book where it takes 3 or 4 chapters to really dive in to the good stuff, this book immediately started out by letting the author know that something was going on by mentioning that there was a gas shortage and within those 12 pages, a hail storm, bus clobbering, explosion, and multiple graphic deaths took place. This will be an amazing page turner!

3.) The Language of Flowers-Vanessa Diffenbaugh: I am in love with beautiful stories that I guess some might think of as mature fairy tales. I think those are some of the best, most pure, books to read though. This book, before I evened read the quick view that is given, I noticed that the cover is lovely and brings a sense of almost peace and happiness to me. After just reading the summary of a girl who is socially estranged after being in the foster system her entire life and can communicate to people by the flowers that she picks out for them, I realized that the plot matched the cover, beautiful. 

4.)  The Secret Life of Bees-Sue Mond Kidd: This has been recommended by many people, so going into it, I figured it would be an interesting book. After reading the summary and some of the reviews, my expectations of what it would be about were quickly shot down. This is not a fru-fru cake book, it involves a dark tragedy from what I have read involving the almost unexplained death of a girl’s mother. Among my list of books, I think this will even out some of the light hearted fairytales and will be a great read.

 5.) The Perks of Being a Wallflower-Stephen Chbosky: I have been told that this is a great read as well, so I looked into it and am excited to get to this one. Bringing to life the reality of high school and all that goes on through a series of letters, this will definitely give me a little insight to different issues and views. The letters that I was able to read are different than the normal which would be in a fiction book because they seem to be more detailed and in depth, therefore I am glad to have a different style among the other books.

6.) Ordinary People-Judith Guest: Among the happy, heart-warming books that I have compiled, I would like to add this book of grief and healing. After losing one son out of two,  a family must pull together through their pain to heal. The reality of this novel will be great and the experience of reading it wholesome. The reviews have consisted of person after person and company stating that it shows you that your problems are normal and that other people go through the same thing, I can’t wait to see what things I have in common with the people and stories in this  book.

 7.)  The Dry Grass of August-Anna Jean Mayhew: Detailed descriptions of things are what draw me into a book and help me imagine what is taking place. I noticed right away that I love the author’s style and sense of elaboration on some of the simplest things like how detailed she wrote about the sky and the flowered cloth bag. This story about a girl traveling with her family and black house maid from the north going closer and farther south tells the tale of the difference in culture within segregation. This book will definitely contain humor, and realization.

8.)  The Lost Wife-Alyson Richman: If you haven’t already picked up on the fact that I love sappy everything then I will openly state it now. This book combined my love of love and history dating back to the Nazi invasion where two lovers are split up, telling the story of what was encountered. I have always been interested in the holocaust but have never been able to really find a book that has completely captivated me, and I believe that this book has done exactly that.

 9.)  Cather in the Rye-J.D. Salinger: I have heard of this book and have had it recommended to me by several people. I enjoy classics but am not one for old English, so that is why I think this book will be an enjoyable classic for me to read. Looking through it, I want to say that the language is almost crude because I seemed to get the impression that the narrator of this book has many harsh feelings and views. This will definitely be a different read for me, which will add variety to my book list.

10.) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings-Maya Angelou: The tragic story of a young girl victimized by rape brings a different kind of plot to this story. I have wanted to read this for a while but haven’t felt like I was in the right mind set for a book that serious and surreal. I noticed that the author’s style involves using metaphors frequently which she has been criticized for doing by reviewers. This will be a nice change between my normal read, and hopefully an impactful one. 

Manly-hood vs. Sparkles

          Over the course of time movies have slowly evolved along with the expectations and changes in society. Looking back on one of the earlier movies from the 1950's, "Rebel Without a Cause," one would take note on the peculiar way that the women seemed almost bloodthirsty, like a praying mantis on the verge of attacking. While the women merely sit back and enjoyed the show, the men were the ones who were stirring up trouble and creating all of the drama. Unlike modern movies this one, like most earlier, features the male role as the one with the conflict and the female role as the shadow.  

          Although the character roles have switched over the decades, the predictability of the movies haven't. This movie is one in which, over the course of a few hours after her boyfriend's death, she has moved on to the main character, Jim. Like one of today's top teen movies, 'Twilight,' features a girl who claims to be madly in love with a troublesome vampire after a couple of days,  claiming to not be able to live without him.  The suggestion that one would get from both early and modern movies is that although the conflicts are different and the roles of importance have switched over the decades, the will for acceptance and affection has not changed. This shows that even though there have been strong cultural changes, the same sort of emotions and feelings are still the same when comparing the intentions that the screenwriters and directors had. Also, since movies are meant to attract the audience, they usually relate to the people's moral and emotional values and feelings, showing the similarities in the different decades.

          Though the predictability and female standpoint may not have changed over the course of the years, the focus of the female attention has. Then, although women were focused intently on finding the 'man of their dreams,' they yearned more for their father's approval than on a significant other's. If they were not shown their father's love and affection, then they would turn to boys as their sort of outlet to gain attention for what they were 'rejected.'  Now, modern movies portray loose women who would rather die than be without their 'sole-mate,' and they could care less either way whether or not their father approved.

          Rebel without a cause is one of many great examples of not only the moral changes but the cultural changes and similarities to modern movies. The ethos used in this 50's movie is much like the ethos in modern movies. It is focused on the feelings and true wishes that every person has, the want for love and acceptance. Although the subject for getting this attention may have changed courses over the decades, the will is still there. The revolutionary changes can also be seen in the turn of the twentieth century as well as you would notice the switch from the focus on the male role to the females. After woman began to rise up in society and take control of their lives and become more independent, they became the focus of these productions. With that, you are also able to see the differences in gender. While the male role consisted of trivial things leading to violence and fighting, the woman's role consists of trivial things leading to gossip and depression. We are human and the people in the 50's were just as human , so although there have been many revolutionary acts which have resulted in impactful cultural changes, the base of every modern movie can be related to an earlier movie, showing that we have the same passion for love, for affection, for attention, for acceptance.

"Attack of the Mantises" An Analysis of "Pick Up Lines Will Save the World" By Dave Barry

    
    

  In this article, "Pick Up Lines Will Save the World," Barry's sarcastic insight of the male's role on 'making the first move' claims that not only do men try their best to sound enraged and intellectual, but also that women tend to be a little too picky when it comes to their pick up line preference. His use of strong ethos and logos throughout the passage support his claim that even though men can have an odd approach when attempting to speak to a female, they also try their best, but because of how they come off they are just down casted and laughed at.

 While Barry realizes that women must endure "childbirth," "wait in line for public-restroom stalls," and have a "psychotic obsession for shoe color," he believes that "nature has given males the heaviest burden of all." The exaggeration here is very great because if any man was forced to carry a baby for nine months, experience mood swings, have gut wrenching cramps during their period, and endure crazed rollercoaster emotions that are brought on by life in general, than I believe that statement would have never been thought. These two things, women's struggles and men's pick up lines, do not come close to being on the same playing field.

  Barry believes that the burden of making the first move is the heaviest, even compared with women's struggles, because they have a risk of being "shot down." Women have a risk of death when it comes to childbirth and they also have to endure pain for an extended amount of time consistently throughout each month. Now, when compared to that, how can that be the biggest burden? I do not agree with these statements because many women make the 'first move,' but women are forced to endure painful things physically, so why can't men take a little initiative on this? Must women do everything?

     Pulling in to his logos, Barry supports his beliefs with an example of the mistreatment of males by the female species from an episode of Discovery Channel. Basically from this show, he manages to suggest that in nature, whatever "species" it is, the male makes a fool out of himself while the female acts uninterested and snickers to her "girlfriends" about this ghastly experience. He used several examples which related his point to different aspects of nature. These examples, even his use of ethos when describing his personal experience, showed that not only was he supported by men in general, but by nature as well.

   From Barry's view, men have it the worst because they are instantly shot down and made a fool out of by women who are unappreciative of just how hard men try. Well, in tying into some men's true intentions, he says that women should cut men some slack and accept their ridiculous pick up lines because they say then in hopes that women will of "mate" with them in the next fifteen minutes to "enable the survival of the human race." If women cut did cut men slack on their choice of introduction, then what would happen? Because really, if a man did care about you, would he be one of the ones that says something along the lines of, "You're Smoking' Hot?" The reason they are embarrassed when they get shot down is probably because they are either not used the word no, or hit on loose women who don't know the word no, therefore he is either creepy or he misinterprets you as a loose woman. Men create this unnecessary uproar about how men are treated, but if they would treat women with respect when approaching them then maybe they would receive a more positive response to their lame pick up lines.

'Kill 'Em! Crush 'Em! Eat 'Em Raw!'

How convincing is football's comparison to war? How does it appeal to logos? 
- In football, you have routine's, plays, drills, and the mindset to take out your opponent. The logic of this game is to win and to crush your opponent. In war, you have moves, drills, routine's and an overall goal to take out your opponent. If in football that means hurting someone, than that's ok, because the logic of it is it's all part of the game...right/ 


What sports, other than football, have a militaristic side? 
-Well, football is the major one. You tackle, have crushing and high impact drills, and most of all, a lot of injuries and even a random death. But, other sports all have a little piece of that, but not near as much as football. Soccer has the view of almost a mental fight. Although you cannot body slam one another, you can use your mental 'fighting' skills to outwit your opponent by turning quickly or ducking, or doing a very impressive move to get the ball. Baseball has a little bit of this aspect also because you have to pay attention to others actions and moves and basically think on your toes as to how far or what your "range" would be to get the ball to this one person. But overall, nothing beats this view when it comes to football. 


How does John McMurtry's personal experience give him credibility to his argument? 
-Anyone who talks about a topic that they have personally experienced obviously gives them a little more room to elaborate on the experience and details on the topic. For John, his personal experience gives him the surreal effects on the positive and negative aspects of the sport of football. If he had never played football, but still chose to right about it,his writing wouldn't have as much credibility. So, by writing about a personal experience, his ethos is created. 


Does celebrity's association with sports enhance it or tarnish it? 
-Just like anything, it depends on the person and their character.If a famous person is involved in a charity, it could enhance it, or it could tarnish it. If the person is honestly playing the sport for fun, and with good character and sportsmanship, than it enhances it and the overall effect. But, if the player uses it to single out the "misfits" and makes them feel as if they are unequal, then that tarnishes it. The name calling, singling out, and overall displacement of individuals tarnishes it, what doesn't is the players who stand up against that kind of playing and attitude.