Book 3 Listicle

Charlie is a very laid back and care free character in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. He doesn't have many friends, except for a few close ones. This may be one of the reasons he writes in his journal every day after school.

 1. Charlie has a limited amount of friends

 Even though he doesn't have the best social life, that doesn't stop Charlie from living a happy and successful life. He writes in his journal about the few friends he has come across during his high school career, during football games, and social events. He’s not the type to hang out with friends over the weekend or after school, and he would choose to do school work over things like that.

2. Charlie has a lot of time

He did many sports as a kid, but the coaches and doctors made him quit, because they made him too aggressive. Even though he was good at the many sports he played, it still wasn’t worth it to influence his character and personality. Now, Charlie has a lot of time on his hands and that makes even more time for him to write about the events and thoughts he has had throughout that day.

3. Charlie is a “good kid”

Instead of partying and  hanging out with his friends on Saturday nights, Charlie would much rather stay home and write rather than going to parties where he could risk getting in contact with drugs and/or alcohol. He is a very motivated and perseverant student, and wouldn’t want to use any of those that would lead him in the wrong path. “I usually walk home from school because it makes me feel like I’ve earned it.” (pg.25). Other students are probably getting together after school, while Charlie is walking home, anxious to get home and write in his journal.

4. He wants to be an author

Charlie is perpetually asking for extra credit and work opportunities. His English teacher helps him with that, and supplies him with more books and essays to type. Allowing this, Charlie’s teachers recommend writing opportunities for him, so he could possibly become an author and hopefully get into a college that encourages Charlie to continue writing and become an author. Aside all of the work and essays his teacher gives him, Charlie writes in his journal about his daily events.

5. Charlie enjoys writing

Charlie is in many excelled classes in school. Even though his siblings are in mostly standard classes, Charlie takes the opportunity to enroll in accelerated classes. It’s not because his parents make him, but because he enjoys writing and most class experiences to get him where he is today. Since he enjoys his classes so much, he incorporates this into his home life, where he takes the time to sit down and write about his recent experiences.

All of these reasons prove why Charlie isn’t like most kids, and how he utilizes his life to eventually become a successful author and not letting other kids influence his life. He is happy with the few friends he has in his life, because they are true friends and he would rather have a few true friends than many fake ones. Charlie is a successful student and will continue to live a successful life. He might even write in his journal about his later encounters in life.

Blog assignment #2: Mi clase favorita

Mi clase favorita es la clase de español. Me gusta la clase de español porque me gusta la profe, ella es amable y trabajadora. Ella se llama Sra. Scruta. También es inteligente. Le gusta leer, escribe, y tocar la guitarra. Para la clase de español necesito un lápiz, el papel, y el borrador. No necesito una novela para la clase de español. Tenemos tarea cada noche.

En la clase estudiamos  ser y estar:

Cómo soy yo

Hola, mi nombre es Lydia. Yo tengo quince años. Yo soy de Mason, Ohio. Yo tengo gemela, se llama Julia. Tengo el pelo castano, y ojos marrones. Yo soy bajo y delgado tambien. Mi gemela y yo no miramos nada igualmente. Yo soy cómico, amable, y trabajar. Yo soy divertido y feliz también.Me gusta tocar el piano, bailar, y escribir. Mi hermana es Julia, somos gemelas. Ella es extrovertida y habladora.

Post 5: Truth in Memoirs

If a book has an engaging plot and interesting story, I feel like it is then acceptable to provide facts that aren’t 100% credible. As long as the overall information is true and convincible, and the story is entertaining to the audience, it is completely fine to use a few facts that are not true.

I agree with Janet Fitch, because she mentions wanting to hear a story, even if it has a few lies in it. Janet states, “I don’t care if it’s true or not.” If a book is a half-lie, I don’t think the audience should mind, as long as they finished reading and were pleased with the author’s work. However, this might not be the case, and some readers might’ve not enjoyed either the plot or the half-lies. But, most readers will enjoy the story, besides the fact of the lies. If they picked up the book expecting to get a history lesson, I personally think it would’ve made more sense if they picked up a history textbook.

I think David Shields has a good point on the subject, but there should still be lines between fiction and non-fiction. But, I would still consider a memoir non-fiction even if there were a few phases of story bending along the way. My theory is if a reader decided to purchase a book with a memoir in the setting of the historical event, they should know some background information about the specific event, instead of relying completely on the memoir itself.

The Color of Water

The Color of Water by James McBride is a very moving and inspirational novel. The main character is James McBride, who lives with his many siblings and white mother. He is curious as to know why her skin color is different than hers. He would wonder why she got mad whenever he asked. One day when he had to opportunity to spend alone time with his mom, he asked what color God was. His mother replied with, "God is the color of water. Water doesn't have a color."

I believe that this is the quote why this is such a popular book. It says how God doesn't see skin color, and will love everyone, not based on the color of their skin. This is an important life lesson, and many people have worked to make it come true. When blacks and whites were segregated, many blacks would work to make this idea one commonly known. It took many sacrifices to do so, but many say it was worth it. Even though racism still lasts today between many groups-not just blacks-there is a voice that is heard from the people who reach out and say something. One of these examples is this novel, The Color of Water. Throughout the book, decisions are being made that could influence the characters' lives. Judging of the characters is seen constantly, because James is black and Jewish. Many people are against this, but James makes a decision to stand up for who he is, no matter his skin color/race, or his religion.

More James McBride information:
http://www.jamesmcbride.com/

Text-to-Society

Boy 30529 is a memoir that is about a boy, Felix, who battles World War 2 and the Holocaust. During these hard times, he realizes that he needs to stay focused on surviving and returning back to his family. He realizes that this is called perseverance. This means to not give up, no matter how hard the situation is, and to not let the enemy win. This is exactly what Felix did, and used the lessons and memories of his past to help him achieve his goals.

Felix used the benefit of his dad being a health fanatic, which made him healthier than others in the Holocaust. Also, his mom taught Felix and his brother Hans to be positive, and to always look on the bright side of every situation. So if Felix was in a life or death situation, his motivation was to look on the bright side, use his past knowledge, and utilize it to help him receive something good from the scenario.

I connected this theory to an article in which I found perseverance. This article is about a man named Tyrone, who was born in Compton- a city in California, filled with drugs and gangs. Tyrone graduated from high school and went to Ranger college on a baseball scholarship. This motive stopped after he had an incident in the grocery store. His total was $20.93. The problem was that he couldn't spell twenty, and, embarrassed as he was, went to ask the cashier for help. He enrolled in lecture classes, and was usually the oldest in the class. Despite that, he was motivated to learn how to read/write. He eventually learned, controlled by his motivation to become someone different than who he grew up with. He didn't give up, and this is another example of perseverance.

Article:
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20130510-55-year-old-to-graduate-from-ut-arlington-after-persevering-for-years.ece

Boy 30529 Summary:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16284952-boy-30529