Catcher in the Rye 9-10

    Disguised as a simple annoyance, an idea manifests itself inside of every living man, woman, and child. The rattle that happens in your car, the one that nobody else can hear. Screeching inside your mind lies a voice that can't be silenced, but at the same time can't be heard. The question is this: Why can't anybody hear the rattle? Why can't anybody stop the rattle and guide me to silence? Nobody ever will. The rattle is yours and yours only. Each individual faces a problem that only they can

perceive, ignorant of all others.

    Holden's rattle sings of his late brother, Allie. After pouring out a heartfelt essay about Allie's baseball glove, Stradlater dismisses Holden by saying, "For Chrissake, Holden. This is about a ****** baseball glove." Stradlater, while holding on to his own rattle, failed to hear Holden's. In a similar fashion, the dealership worker, after being unable to hear the rattle in Daryn's car, gives her the "It’s time for you to go home now, Crazy Lady" look. The rattle didn't appear, but it was still there.

    The most sensitive memories, the most painful, appear only to us. The rattle inside our brains every second of every day. Rattle, rattle, rattle, you hear faintly. To lower the volume is simple. To erase it completely is impossible.

      

Summer Reading Blog Post 4

The reason I chose this book, In Darkness, was because it seemed different from most other books. I didn't want to read a book about a sappy love story or some fantasy book that recycles elements from pretty much every other fantasy novel. This book was definitely worth my time. When I was reading this book, it had some brutal things that happen in real life. It had shootings, war, poverty, and desolation. It felt like the author knew that I could handle swearing and violence instead of trying to hide me from it. Even though it has all this, it still is poetic, and meaningful.

I would recommend this book to people who like action and are tired of the same old love story or fantasy novel. Someone who doesn't mind a little profanity but still would yearn for interesting things to happen. You may also like this book if you are interested in history. It tells about the revolutionary from Haiti, Toussaint l'Ouverture. It shows how he rebels against the whites to free the slaves of Haiti. It shows how he is connected to a modern day boy named Shorty and they both experience the lives of one another. If you're interested in an exciting, poetic, and historic novel, you would love to read this book.

Summer Reading Blog Post 3

One of the passages from the book that hooks the reader is, "I am the voice in the dark, calling out for your help. I am the quiet voice that you hope will not turn to silence, the voice you want to keep hearing cos it means someone is still alive. I am the voice calling for you to come and dig me out. I am the voice in the dark, asking you to unbury me, to bring me from the grave and out into the light, like a zombi."

During this part of the book, the main character whose name is later revealed to be Shorty, has been trapped in the darkness when a building collapsed under an earthquake. It shows that he still has hope that somebody might come rescue him from is dark, desolate prison. The author uses repetition in this paragraph to hook the reader and create a rhythm. The writing has a poetic feeling to it. It also provides a sense of wonder. What's going on? What happened to this person? Is he/she dead? The odd thing is, the character doesn't exactly know either. All that he knows is that he probably will stay trapped under the rubble in the darkness for the rest of his life, maybe even eternity.

Summer Reading Blog Post 2

One main character in my book is a child that gets trapped under building rubble after an earthquake. He doesn't tell us his name. His main goal throughout the story is to survive the wreckage. He constantly yearns for water and does lots of crazy things in order to survive. For example, he gets so thirsty that he drinks his own urine for sustenance. He doesn't know whether he is still alive or not. It's impossible to be sure of anything in the darkness in which he is trapped.

Another main character is Toussaint l'Ouverture. His desire is for the rebellion to succeed against the white slavers that rule his nation. He is tasked with leading the rebellion because he is chosen by an Iwa (vodou god). He also feels conflicted as to whether he believes in the vodou or the Christian religion.

Some themes that are beginning to appear is that the risk of death can make people do crazy things. For example, as mentioned before, the child drinks his own urine. Another theme is that people can do great things if they are passionate. Toussaint l'Ouverture wasn't very into the vodou religion. Some people also said that he was visually unappealing. However, he is passionate about leading the rebellion.

In this story, it doesn't say chapter numbers. It says THEN or NOW. THEN focuses on the story behind Toussaint l'Ouverture. NOW focuses on the child's story.

Summer Reading Blog Post 1

My book, In Darkness by Nick Lake, has two different story lines. One is about a 15 year old Haitian child. He doesn't really reveal his name. All that we know about him is that he is trapped under a collapsed building after an earthquake. He doesn't really know whether he may be dead or alive. He constantly struggles to find water and food. He tells us all about how it led to him being trapped. This seems similar to the time that a man got his arm stuck in a mountain when he went rock climbing. He eventually had to cut his arm off to free himself. This is similar because both people were trapped with almost no sustenance and nobody was able to help him. However, the rock climber had light. I predict that the child will die in the rubble. I think that people  think that no one else is there.

 The other story in the book focuses on Haitian revolutionary, Toussaint l'Ouverture. He is a slave that believes in both the vodou and Christian religion. He has to lead a rebellion against the white slavers that occupy the country. He finds out during a ceremony before the war that he was chosen by an Iwa (vodou god) to lead the rebellion. This is similar to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Germany because the Jews in the ghetto rebelled against the Nazis that tried to take them to a concentration camp. I predict that the rebellion will triumph.

How will the story connect Toussaint to the child? What will happen to both of the protagonists?

Final Blogger Assessment - English 1B

This is my blog with the best voice.
http://cooperjosephblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-best-part-about-my-book-infinite.html#comment-form

One example of a sentence that demonstrates my writer’s voice is when I say “It won't do it literally of course. If a book did that, then the author would be covered in lawsuits”. This sentence talks about how earlier I said “…a massive battle will just jump right out at you”. This demonstrates my voice because I include some humor which can help you hear my voice more easily. Another phrase that demonstrates my writer’s voice is “…shows some of my favorite heroes”. This demonstrates my voice because I’m talking about my favorite heroes and you can hear my voice.

In my blog post, I have purposefully included informal diction. One example of informal diction is “Also, the action sequences aren't like the ones that you saw on TV as a kid”. This is informal diction because it talks directly to you so it feels like a normal conversation. I included this in order to better connect with the reader. A syntax technique that I include in my blog post is that I ask questions. An example of one that I ask is, “What about your book?” I include this in my post so that I can talk to the reader and make him/her able to interact with me.

 

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                                                             You before reading this book:

You after reading this book: