CITR Chapters 7-12

1. If I were Holden and had just gotten kicked out of school, I would probably go to a friends house or travel to a place that I had been wanting to go to. I don't think that I would want to go home, agreeing with the thoughts of Holden on this. I would go to a friend's house because it would be like starting vacation early instead of getting kicked out of school. Or I would go to a place I had been wanting to go to for a while, like NYC, because it would get my mind off why I wasn't in school, and all that other stuff.

2. I think that what the end of chapter 12 says is true. Especially when you're reading a book, and someone else has already read it and they tell you exactly what happens. Same with movies. When you're having fun and someone is just all bummed out about it, that also can ruin it for you. Or when they're not enjoying themselves but you are, and they think that it's all about them. People have definitely ruined things for me before, while I'm reading books or about to watch a movie. And when others are just down all the time, it has ruined it for me also.

3. Right now, Jane's character has just been introduced a little. There hasn't been any present interactions between Jane and Holden yet, so I can't really say how they interact together. But Jane is one of those people who is always fun to be around, likes just hanging out, and also doing random things that are fun. I think the fact that Holden remembers how Jane always kept her kings in the back row was a hint of a possible connection between the two. I have the feeling that Holden cares about Jane, even if he isn't willing to admit it. His thoughts always drift back to her, and he doesn't really mention any other girls, other than ones he "went around with", which leads me to believe that she was someone special.

CITR Chapters 1-6

1. To be unique means to stand out in the crowd. It is a good thing to be unique because everyone else is already taken, so there's no point in trying to be them. I think that in the teenage years, before you really figure out who you are, you try to fit in like everyone else. I'm not saying that this is how everyone is, but I have definitely noticed this, as I have done it too. You're not meant to be like your best friend. If you were, wow, this would be a boring place. In this context, being unique is like Ackley, or Allie. Ackley has a distinct personality that makes him him and Allie had the brightest red hair ever, making him unique from someone with just slightly red hair. They both stand out, and how you react to that is part of who you are. Holden is also a very unique character. He doesn't admire himself all day long and talk about how great he is like Stradlater. He likes to act like a little kid, which is very unusual for a 16 year old, especially since almost all the 16 year-olds that I know act like they're all grown up and everything. On some level, Holden is really independent. I think that while he was talking with Old Spencer, he was considerate of what he had to say, and respected that he was trying to help him, but he didn't want to listen. He is a very smart kid, just not book smart, if you know what I mean.

2. In an adult world,  individuality is kept by being different than everyone else. Doing what you love is the most important part to being a unique individual in an adult world. If you really love something, you'll really excel and be great at it.

3. Allie is similar to my favorite person in many ways. (First off, I wish not to tell my favorite person because I cannot choose between them.) One, my favorite person cares as much as Allie does for other people, as well as being extremely intelligent, funny, and great to be around. This person makes me smile, yet can be serious when necessary. Rereading the page where Allie is mentioned, my favorite person is very athletic, and always there for support.  

Books 18-24: The End!

First of all, I am so happy to have finished the Odyssey! It was a great book, but at some parts, I really hated it. How this story was laid out reminded me of how my novel was laid out. At the very end was when the story began to really start, and then there was a way that it was ended, maybe not the best, but an ending none the less. Looking back, I can see the poetic aspect of it, but while I was reading, it didn't seem like a poem at all.

What I thought about this section was that it was the second best of all the ones we read. There was action when Ulysses, Telemachus, Eumaeus, and someone else (I forgot his name) are fighting against the suitors. But what I didn't like was that it happened so quickly. Other things take a long time to happen and it's such a short amount of time. This takes all night and lasts only a page or two. I didn't like that when Ulysses was talking to his father, that he lied to him. He is already home, why can't he just tell his father what really happened? Now when I think about it, there was a lot of lying during this time and so when people said, 'tell me, and tell me true', they wanted the real truth, not some lie that had been created. I was also thinking about how Minerva was putting thoughts into peoples heads, putting them to sleep, etc. How would you know that what you are doing was really you doing it? If the gods could control you, would it really be your life? Or would it be theirs in a different body? Would you be able to resist some of the things they do to you? Just wondering.

Overall, I think that this was a good read. There were a lot of errors in spelling and punctuation, funny perspective switches, and some things that I found not to make sense. I also found that as I got closer to the end, it was easier to read and to understand. I didn't write as much in the margins as I did in the beginning, not that anyone would really care.

This is my last post for the Odyssey!!! YAY!

Odyssey Books 13-17

I am so happy that Ulysses' story is finally over! To this point, I have found myself rather enjoying this book. What really surprised me was the Ulysses' told another story in book 14, which I was wondering if some of it was made up. How many stories is there going to be? It seems like there is a lot and almost too many to cram in there so close together.

Also, I was wondering why we can't be so generous like Eumaeus is with Ulysses when we have guests. I think that this is because of 9/11 that we can't trust everyone like we used to.

There were some parts that I found to be confusing with switching of perspectives and all.

This whole section that we had to read was basically stories and plotting against the suitors. I wish that something more exciting had happened other than what happened in the stories. 

I found that it was more difficult to post my thoughts as I was reading, because in the paragraph it would be answered. But something that wasn't answered directly in the text was why Ulysses had to keep Penelope in the dark. Was it because she might spread the word to others that weren't supposed to know? Like the suitors? I was also wondering when they are going to take their revenge. It seems like they should do it sooner rather than later for the well-being of the others.

This concludes my post for this week.

Odyssey Books 11 & 12

After reading book 11, I was beginning to wonder how long this was taking Ulysses to tell his stories. I know that it takes up a lot of pages :) I was wondering also, how do you dig with a sword? It seems that when Ulysses was digging the ditch on his journey to Hades place, he was using the blade of his sword. When Ulysses was with the ghosts, what were the other men thinking? And what was the goal of this journey? He didn't do much except talk to the ghosts. . . There were some really awful deaths in this book, as well as in book 12, and I was wondering how many more ways can someone die? I'm sure I will be surprised by how others die though too. 
In book 12, I was reminded of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis. I was reminded of this because of the Sirens and how there was the temptations of evil when they went up to the Witch's Island. It was a powerful magic that the Witch used and it almost got some of the crew. There are other ways that it reminds me of this, but I won't write it all out. When they got to the Sirens, why could only Ulysses hear them? Why didn't they affect him in the way that it did the others. And if there was wax in the crew's ears, how could they hear when Ulysses begged an prayed, but not the Sirens? When Eurylochus told the men to kill the cows, how did Ulysses know what the men said? And did Ulysses tell them of the horrible things that would surely happen to them if they did? He must have not told them the full effects of it since they did it anyways. . . It was really easy to understand for the most part, although there were really long sentences in some parts of the assigned books.

Odyssey Book 10

In book 10, I noticed that at some spots, the story moves really fast. But at other spots, it moves fairly slow. Here are some of my thoughts on this book:

1. Why does Ulysses have to go on the extra journey? And how does he remember all the information given to him from Circe about this voyage?

2. When they say cloaks and shirts, by cloak do they mean pants or what a cloak is to us? It seems kind of odd that they would walk around with no pants . . . hmmmmm.

3. How many men were left when the got to the island where Circe lived?

4. If I were there as part of Ulysses' crew, I would be pretty upset with him myself too.

5. What about the bag caused them to be turned around? It would be so awful for that to happen when they could see their home.

6. When Ulysses and his crew were turned around and ended back on the Aeolian Island, why did they end up here? Because this is where they came from?

7. And when Ulysses went back to Aeolus, I agreed with Aeolus not helping them. I wouldn't want to because what if this happened again?

8. Why did Antiphates eat Ulysses' men?

Anyways, I pretty much got everything that was going on, but sometimes it was hard to get the meaning of the story and what it had to do with the whole poem in general. And most of the time, I can't tell that it is a poem I am reading. . .

Odyssey Books 8 & 9

As I read book 8, I was really surprised at how Ulysses still hadn't told anyone his name!!! I know that at the beginning of book 9 he tells his story and all, but it was kind of surprising to know that they went all that time without knowing his name. It seems so different from our culture considering that right when we meet someone, we ask their name and things that we need to know about them, like how old they are. Here, they feed them, and give them comfortable clothes and let them bathe and even go several days without knowing about this person. I think that that would be really weird. . . I was also wondering, does Ulysses know that Minerva was helping him along the way? Like at the athletic field? Overall, I found this book to be really easy to read and it all made sense. I also like the part that reads 'hither and thither'. I think that that is cute and something that you don't see everyday.

In book 9 as Ulysses was telling his story, I was wondering what the Phaeacians thought of him. I think that if I were to hear this story of it happening today, I would be REALLY mad at what he has done. Was this the norm? Was this how you became mighty, noble, powerful, great, etc? I can understand why the gods would want to punish him from his story . . . it seemed like they wanted him to think through what he did and how he killed lots and lots of people. It's almost as if they sent him to timeout by sending him to Calypso and not being able to leave for _ years, (I forgot). And who are the Lotus-eaters? It reminds me of a book I read a while ago. And do they ever get drunk from drinking so much wine? It seems in every book, they are drinking wine like 3-5 times a day! And that's only what they mention! When he is telling his story, it seems like he remembers it like it was yesterday. Ulysses has a lot of detail and it seems that he shouldn't remember it so vividly since it happened a few years ago. I thought that the when Ulysses told Polyphemus that his name was Noman, that it was cleverly thought out for this to happen. 

I realized that while I was reading, that I really hate Ulysses. For one he is arrogant, for example, when they are leaving the island of the Cyclops, Ulysses jeers at them twice, causing Polyphemus to throw the rocks at them.