Pass

I'm taking a pass tonight.

Enemy of the People

I was not crazy about “Enemy of the People,” it reminded me too much about our own mess the US is in when it comes to the majority and politics. For Dr. Stakman he was ridiculed because he chose to take a stand against the majority and instead choose to stand up for what is right, even if it hurt him. This is really similar to the issues America has been facing today. It seems that when someone stands up for something that isn’t majority; people will ridicule them until there face is blue. For instance, there were a couple cases of different people who were against the belief of global warming. We were assigned to write a research paper on the effects of global warming. One girl in my class chose to stand up against what the majority was for and instead decided to write about it on why it was a fake. For the rest of the year this individual was torn down every chance someone got. Even the teacher spoke badly about her and admitted to the class that she failed her paper. I did not want to write about the effects of global warming because I didn’t believe in it either, but unfortunately I was a coward to stand up for my beliefs and I chose to succumb to the pressure of the majority. Dr. Stakman knew what was right and chose to stand up for his beliefs. From his decision the people had chosen to make him an “enemy of the people”. It’s unfortunate that in today’s society that people have to give in to the pressure of what the minority thinks is “right” and instead keep silent their true beliefs.” Enemy of the People” is a clear representation of something that has been ongoing since the beginning of time. People will always choose to be part of the majority so they do not have to face the ridicule from others.

Love Letters and War

The first couple weeks of class we read all kinds of short stories, poems and folk songs that always had an underlying theme of love and death. Ever y book I have read has always had some sort of love story in it for example, I read Atonement and this is what the book is all about… love and death. This novel is based around World War II a time where death and love was inevitable. Every story that is based in the time period of World War II always has the same kind of storyline. Girl and Boy fall in love. Boy leaves for war and only relies on the letters from his Girl. Boy ends up dying in war. In the story Cecilia and Robbie fall in love. She was the rich girl and he was her landscaper. There love comes across as forbidden considering the different kinds of classes there in. Yet, when they finally reveal their feelings for each other, Cecilia’s little sister catches the two together and from there the plot begins. She lies to her entire family about Robbie and for that Robbie is thrown in prison for years. Everyone believes her except for Cecilia who stands up for Robbie. Throughout the course of the next couple of years she writes him letters promising her love to him. After he is let out of prison, he is sent right to the battlefield. It is here that he sees the horror and brutality of war. However, he still finds a way to get through it only because of Cecilia’s letters. These kinds of stories that involve letters and war just break my heart. You know that stories like these will always end badly which is horrible because you become immersed with the characters and their love letters. I’m not going ruin the end of the story but considering the way every war story goes we can figure it out…

The Beating of the Rain

Olivia pulled her car in the closest parking lot in sight. It was 12:28 am, and each raindrop on her windshield was another memory that sprung up in her mind. Her cries weren’t just whimpering of quiet sadness. No, these cries were competing against the sound of the rain. The crying only seemed to get louder and louder as a way of finally letting the world know that it was unjust. Olivia closed her wet eyes and tried hard not to think of when her heart was set on a path that was impossible to go back.
It was the best vacation she had in a long time. It was on this vacation that she finally knew where she stood when it came to friendships and dating. I guess it was easy to go along with the approach of being content of not having a guy considering she never really knew the feeling of having her heart broken. She stepped on the terminal that would take her to the family van. Sitting down on the seat, she whispered a prayer. This was a prayer of love and purity for the continuous grace that her Father had shown her. It was in this prayer that she knew that everything she did was based around Christ first and foremost. “I’m ready,” she thought. “I’m ready to be the example in my school and youth group. Nothing will hold me back.”
How much had changed since that cold brisk day in the terminal. There was so much hope and reassurance. How could she have changed so quickly? How could she of done the very thing she never thought was going to of happened so soon. That was giving her heart away to someone that was undeserving of it.
“Hi, I’m Henry, I just moved in with the pastor a week ago.” Olivia’s eyes widened to the point where she thought they wouldn’t be able to take it any longer. “Calm yourself,” she chanted silently in her head over and over. “Just because he happens to be blonde and gorgeous doesn’t mean I have to make a fool of myself” she thought. Throughout the course of the night when she first met Henry, she couldn’t think of anything else. She really did not understand what it meant to have your heart beat 150 times a minute until she was with Henry. They played cards, talked about their families and shared the passions that God had placed on their heart. People knew by the end of the evening this relationship formed wasn’t taken lightly; instead it was going to be something on going for a long time.
It was 11:30pm when Olivia finally left Henry. The rain was coming down so hard, it was nearly impossible to keep both eyes open. It wasn’t until she placed her hand on her car door that she remembered she needed to say goodbye to Henry. Right when she was about to turn around to find him she heard her name called. “Olivia!” Henry yelled across the driveway. Every other thought left her mind and she ran to meet Henry halfway. Water was running down their entire bodies, their hair was soaking wet yet none of that mattered when she saw him. She just needed to know that he was right there. “I just wanted to make sure that you drive home safe. Please be careful. It’s really scary out there.” Those were his departing words as she turned to walk back to her car.
“Wait!” she cried. Olivia turned around and ran into Henry’s arms as if this was the last time she would ever see him, yet this was the very first time she had met him. This scene looked like it was taken out of a scene from The Notebook. Boy and Girl run into each other’s arms with no chance of letting go. It was in Henry’s arms that Olivia finally found the place where she belonged.
Olivia flinched quickly when she realized the path her memories were taking her. “I can’t think about this, I was such a fool. I am still one” she repeated to herself over and over in her parked car. If only she knew the trail that started from this relationship. If only she listened to logic and the people around her, rather than what she thought her heart was telling her. If only…
“What’s your problem Henry? One minute you act as if you care deeply for me, then the next you act as if I have the plague. What’s wrong? What did I do?” This was the typical conversation Henry and Olivia would have about once a month. The rest of the time was an ongoing roller coaster. People couldn’t keep up with it. They were happy and together or they were frustrated and upset. However, if Henry did one special thing for her, Olivia would forget about the ten other wrongs that he done minutes before. She was smitten. Her heart didn’t beat at the same pace as her brain was telling her to back away. She was falling harder and harder for him as the months progressed. Sure he acted like a jerk plenty of times but when they went to the mission field and he shared his inner feelings with her alone, she couldn’t help but feel that this feeling was too good to pass up. Olivia couldn’t stay away but she knew getting too close was lethal at the same time. Unfortunately for her she was already infected, the side effects were dangerous.
“Trust me Henry. I’m not going to break your heart. Let me be the one to help you take off these layers that you’re using to protect yourself. I won’t hurt you. I promise” Olivia remembered the moment she had uttered those words. She pictured his face as she said those words. Tears were slowly starting to form in his eyes as he listened to her. “If only I protected myself at the same time” she thought. She assured herself to Henry over and over, never realizing that it was herself that needed the most protecting. Did those words help build the relationship? No, what it did was that it showed Henry that Olivia was his even if he didn’t offer the same promise in return.
“I missed you since you’ve been in school” Henry softly said as he looked into Olivia’s transparent brown eyes. Her eyes told the whole story. Even when she went away to school and thought she was over Henry, she knew she was wrong when she looked at him for the first time she came back home. “I’m never going to get over him she thought. If I feel this way then we must be meant for each other.”
“I was so wrong,” she softly whispered as the remaining tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. How could I of been so wrong. She threw her head against the steering wheel and slowly rehashed the hour before her world came crashing down.
She walked into the youth room, eager to surprise everybody. The first person Olivia set her sights on was Henry. Henry; beautiful, fun, crazy and amazing Henry. He gave her the same look that he always did. It was the kind of look where she has to stop for ten seconds while trying to get her heart to slow down. Just when she was about to say hi to him, Marie pulled her to the side with a look of sadness and pity. “Did you hear the news?” Marie said. “No, what’s the news?” Marie pulled Olivia off to the side, to a place that was private enough so that people wouldn’t have to witness the heartbreak that was about to take place for Olivia. “Henry is getting married.”
Olivia turned the key in the ignition and put the car in reverse. The rain was beginning to let up and the sun was peeking through the clouds. With tear stained eyes, Olivia slowly left the parking lot. Leaving behind every memory of her once beloved Henry.

Atonement

My literature novel that I am reading for the class right now is Atonement by Iam McEwan. This book is set in 1935 around the War. From reading the inside cover I can see that this book is a big cause and effect and the reprucussions from it. It seems to be that the younger sister tells a lie which will forever impact the everyone involve. This book looks to be made up of romance, drama, suspense, manipulation and guilt. This is my kind of novel because I love reading books like this. I was afraid that since it had to be "literary" I wouldn't like it but I think I was wrong. So far I have enjoyed reading the first couple of pages and seeing the different kinds of characters that have been introduced so far. I've always loved seeing how much change the characters go through from the first to last chapter in the novel. I can tell that this novel is going to be one of those novels that are going to have many dynamic character. Especially when war is involved, the soldiers always seem to change from the effect of war. It will be interesting to see how much different shy Robbie will be. I really am looking forward to reading this book for English, it will be interesting to see how different this novel is compared to the other novels I have read on my own.

Reading

I am looking forward to the next couple of class periods. I love to read. I love the idea of being able to place myself in a whole different world and to let myself get lost in the characters and plotlines of the stories. Reading is nothing like watching a movie because a movie doesn't let your imagination run wild, instead it sets everything out for you. However, for books our imagination takes over the pages of the book. It can take us away from the stress of our daily life and instead it lets us be swept away in a life that isn't ours. Reading expands your mind in ways you never imagined it could be. It could be a mystery, romance, suspence, thriller... it's all up to you and your library card. For example, I've fallen in love with Edward Cullen in Twilight. I became a mercantile bride who settled in the 1800's in Seattle with the expectation of being a teacher never a bride. The greatest thing about reading books is that don't have to be afraid of getting a broken heart in the process. What I do know is that reading offers me an escape to stories that are endless and that will always be etched in my memory.

Our Perspective on Poetry and Art

Visiting an Art Gallery tomorrow will really give us a new perspective on the way we can interrupt literature. For example, sometimes poems are used as a reference to what the author is trying to convey. It's hidden within the complexities of phrases or statements that really makes the reader think what the poet wants us to know. For instance, the poem we read in class didn't make sense to me at first. I thought it was about a guy who had an infatuation with a lady. It wasn't until I read it again that I really dug deep in what was happening with the plotline. That poem presented to me a completely different picture, one that I never saw the first time. That is how it is when it comes to looking at paintings. At first we just see a jumble of colors on a canvas and we can't help but wonder why this is even showcased. It is not until we look at it a second or third time that we can see the message that the painter wants to convey to his audience. Interprutation comes a long way in both poetry and art. We can not just look at it once and expect to know what its saying. Instead we need to look at it over and over and analyze what it's telling us. When we finally do figure it out, we see it in a whole different perspective.

The Importance of Character

The character is the focus of every movie and storyline. They define how the plot will proceed and the ability to transform themselves into the person they are trying to be gives the audience a better inscription on the kind of person they are. They can make the plot believable or really out there. People tend to forget just how important the character is in the movie, but really a lot of it comes from the subconscious mind when it comes to the way they react to the scene. I know a lot of the times when I watch a movie, I often make a decision in the first ten minutes whether it’s worth my time or not. Instead I tend to see the role that the characters will play in the story and it’s decided whether they can handle the capacity of the kind of character they contribute to. For example, when we read the required reading on character my eyes kept focusing on Vivian Leigh in Gone with the Wind. Her character defined the movie. She was able to portray to the audience the emotion and feeling that came along with her role. We were able to picture what women like Scarlett actually experienced during the Civil War. When the Civil War is mentioned everyone’s mind starts with the soldiers and war. We forget what the other sex had went through. Vivian Leigh’s character is able to depict to the audience the raw emotion and anguish that came along with being a women during that time period. We know that the character did a good job when we can start to relate and feel the emotion that the character is portraying. That is why Gone with the Wind is considered to be one of the best movies of all time. It was because of the way the characters were portrayed.