The Count of Monte Cristo

         For my outside reading book I have chosen the Count of Monte Cristo. A bandit infested, treasure hungry novel totaling 1463 pages. Written by the renowned author Alexandre Dumas. Who also wrote The Three Musketeers . A similar story based in the same time period, set in France, just like The Count of Monte Cristo. Further similarities include the lengths of the books, the titles and the plot lines, which deal with a conspiracy theory involving the king.
       Although, I am, regrettably, a little behind on my reading so I doubt my description of the story will be as accurate as those of the other people reading it. Still I feel I understand the plot well enough to judge its worth. So far, I am a little disappointed in it. I was told it was going to be an enthralling story that I wouldn't want to put down, instead I'm having trouble picking it. What with it being so huge and the fact that it revolves around a constantly changing character, I'm having a hard time relating to both the young Edmond Dante's and the infamous count of Monte cristo (these to titles belong to the same character, just at different stages in the story). so in my opinion I find the authors skills in characterising are week and a bit dramatic.
        The author, coming from a rather dramatic childhood, seems to channel a lot of his excess emotions in his stories. making them pitted with disaster and over powering emotions, such as love, betrayal and revenge. these basic feeling are the basis of his stories' themes, and are used to show the basic building blocks of human nature.

   To me To Kill A Mockingbird is a story that gives a glimpse into the lives of many people from all different sides of the spectrum, it discusses racism and discrimination by class. There are children and adults, racists and"negro lovers". Generous people and the kind of people how wouldn't give you  the time of day. The story is a vessel for all of the ideas that Harper lee has on the world. Her diction shows how she feels on the topics and 'gives a gives a glimpse into her life.
   After reading the novel  I felt I could relate with a few of the characters. Scout for example is a lot like me; shes been reading for as long as she can remember, just like me, she is a bit of a tom boy; hanging out with her brother and getting in to fights all the time, like i did when i was younger, and she is curious about everything around her, another attribute we have in common.
     Mrs. Maudie is another character that I can see is similar to me. For one, she is an opinionated woman who doesn't give a hoot about what others think about her. She also loves to be outside in her garden, surrounded by her flowers. and, even though she is much older then me, i think we share a point of view about the world.
      

My Boo Radley's

In my life I cant quite pinpoint one person who is similar to boo Radley. Instead my dad has a group of friends that he has known since he was in college. These four guys have been at every birthday and major holiday since I can remember. They were the people I went with to see the premier of Revenge of the Sith with at midnight the day it came out and the skipped school to play video games with the day after. Their like my extra uncles who over, time got married and had kids whom I now think of as my cousins.

            Although I love them all very much, when I was younger I was a little nervous when I got around them. When I was six none of them had children yet so I was somewhat of a oddity. Without any experience with children they were easy upset and over reacted when I was a little rambunctious, what six year old up after their bedtime wouldn’t be? so when they told me to calm down or stop doing something I felt I had genuinely done something wrong. The next time they would come over I would act very grown up, saying please and thank you and sit quietly. It was torture, and instead of being praised for my behavior it went unnoticed. I would then feel ignored. What I didn’t understand then was that everything was new to them; they weren’t sure how to act around kids, just like Boo isn’t quite sure how to act around people.

            But eight years later they’re all parents, or are expecting and seem to understand what is and isn’t ok for a little one to do. Sadly, I don’t get to see them very often anymore, between kindergarten and little league games, and the lack of Lucas films coming out there aren’t really any opportunities.

Blog Introduction

          As an English student I enjoy reading and creative writing, but lack enthusiasm in discussing literature. So, on my blog you can expect to see long responses to intellectual questions and shorter less involved answers to questions about the books we've read in class. i also tend to ramble and get distracted so my posts might be a little confusing. but over all they should be complete and interesting.
        
          I think the point of an English class is to get students not only aware of there first language but also to familiarize them with the world that they live in, which is based on language and communication. Think about it, in the modern day we interact by way of speech, whether it be in person or through an ad on the TV. Or through literature, where people express their feelings and share their opinions most commonly, either in the Newspaper or in their own personal journal where they can release all their pent up feelings that were not expressed throughout the day. The present day American culture couldn't function without English.