Independant Reading Activity #2

I was somewhat surprised when Nana said that Mariam wasn't allowed to go to school. When Mariam first decided that she wanted to learn like all the other children I thought that would have been really good and she might be able to grow up and get a decent job and not be an outcast like her mother is. Then Nana completely rejected the idea and said that there is no use of her going to school because she won't learn anything. I don't think that the author's style had much to do with the element of surprise. The actual event was not exactly one of surprise, it was just unexpected for me because I had a different idea about the situation than Mariam's mother did.

Atonement

Atonement: reparation for an offense or injury
I think there is some way that this is possible. I think it might be indirect though. Like by doing something good for someone else that had nothing to do with he sin or mistake you originally made it could be a reparation. Then again I feel like maybe it isn't possible, that by doing something wrong there is no way to go back and fix it in anyway. Like what is done is done.After reading so far I think that Amir seeks atonement for the way he treated Hassan and how nothing ever came up about what happened in the alley with Assef and Hassan. I think think that maybe Amir regrets not going to help Hassan and if not that at least talking to him about it or telling someone else what happened so that maybe the issue could be resolved. Because by Amir not doing anything it just made the whole situation worse for everyone, even their fathers. At this point I'm not sure there is anything he could do to "become good again" and receive the atonement he seeks.

Independent Reading Book #2

I just started reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I am only a few chapters in but so far it is about this girl who is disliked by her mother because her mother had gotten pregnant by the man she was a servant for so she was punished and had to go live in isolation almost and her father left her. The mother, Nana, despises the life of Afghanistan women. So the daughter, Miriam, is living with just her mother now, but her father Jalil, comes to visit every once in a while.
I think as the story goes on I am going to learn a lot about what life in Afghanistan is like for a lot of women and there will also be some of the history of that area in there as well. I think it is going to be very interesting especially because we are reading Kite Runner at the same time.

Almost there...

This picture is an action shot of a solider in training. He is in the last few days of practice operations. Right now he is by himself covering the area around the creek. His mission is so make sure that side is secure and then make it back in time to get on the helicopter which will take them back to the base. He has been out there with the rest of the soldiers in training for almost 3 weeks without a change of clothes or real food to eat. Even though he is excited to graduate from the academy and become a real soldier, there is nothing more that he wants than to get on that helicopter and head for home, so he is running as fast as he ever has.

The Triumph of Evil

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing."
-Edmund Burke

I think this quote is trying to simply say that by the good people sitting back and doing nothing it allows those who are evil to prevail and be successful. I feel like Edmund Burke is also saying that it is very easy for the triumph of evil to be known. I agree with this quote, I think that the good people have to do things as well, that but doing nothing that doesn't exactly make them good. Some people think that because they're not involved they're fine, but if everyone has that same thought process, nothing will ever be resolved. The 'good' people aren't exactly that if they don't do anything to stop all the bad.

Decisions

I think there are many factors that affect people's decisions. For me I think the biggest factors are family, friends, and those around me who might be directly affected. I think that subconsciously the way I was raised and the morals and lessons I have learned from my parents and many other people who played a part in my life so far affect the decisions I make. Usually when I am trying to make a decision I just weigh the outcomes and choose what I think would be better. I also think that no matter what you do you always affect people around you whether you intend to or not. The biggest decision that I have made recently is to attend the University of Pittsburgh next fall. My family will play the biggest role as a factor to my decision making next year and in the future. Making choices that would make them proud I guess would be the ultimate goal.

Recipe for Afghanistan

33,609,937 people
Sprinkle of Al-Qaeda
Dash of Taliban
Almost a decade of Operation Enduring Freedom

Traveling in time to chpt 3;chpt 10 prompt #7

After reading chapter three I said that I thought that the whole story would just continue to be a bunch of random stories all put together jumping around from one time to another. This was exactly what happened but it became a little easier to follow along because there were some patterns in Billy's time travel. Most of the book centered around the war and his trip to the planets with the aliens.
I also said in my previous post that the story seemed like a puzzle that had to be put together which it very much was.
Now that I am through with the book I think I understood and grasped most of the concepts that Kurt Vonnegut was trying to get across. I feel as though maybe even reading the book again would give me an even better understanding as to the themes and ideas he put into it.
Here is a link I found just summarizing Slaughterhouse-five and giving a little background information and insight that I found interesting after just finishing the book myself

Did you know?; chpt 9 prompt #5

This entire book has many moments that are moving but this chapter in particular was the most emotional for me. One of the characters goes on to recall many other bombings such as Hiroshima and the number of people who died from them. I thought this was interesting and moving because less people died from the atomic bomb in Hiroshima then did from the firebombing of Dresden, yet many people don't know this. "The thing was though, there was almost nothing in the twenty-seven volumes about the Dresden raid, even though it had been such a howling success. The extent of the success had been kept a secret for many years after the war--a secret from the American people." This was emotional because in the book we can see how greatly this effected Billy and how messed up he became after it and yet millions of people had no idea of the extent of the damage that was done or even that the firebombing occurred.

Billy Pilgrim; chpt 8 prompt #3

Chapter 8 incorporated many aspects of the book and helps sum up some loose ends. By doing so it delves into the adaptation of Billy over the years and some of the reasons he is the person he is. Vonnegut finally is compelled to explain what turned Billy from a depressed soldier into an institutionalized and unstable optometrist. Billy's daughter, Barbara, believes all Billy's talk of aliens and so forth are nonsense , as would anyone, and claims these ideas are because of Kilgore Trout who is an author who wrote many books using science-fiction persuasion. And Barbara is convinced Billy's psychotic transformation started with him. Please also remember all the talk of aliens and time travel is assumed to be real in the context of the book by Billy, however, other readers and I still contain some skeptism regarding whether these things are real or are purely figments of Billy's imagination and the result of a subsequent sleeping disorder. However, it is also after Billy witnesses the Dresden firebombing and 'time travels' to a future event that he his greatly effected and his mindset begins to be altered. I believe this is due to the events he witnessed as a soldier and a survivor of a bombing considered by many worse than that of Hiroshima. Through this change in Billy, Vonnegut is once again illustrating the effect of war on the mind. He is saying war not only affects people as it goes on but long after and quite often for an entire lifetime, that war is a completely horrific part of mankind.

Peace Not War; chpt 7 prompt #8

It has become pretty clear to me now what the major theme and message of the book is how irrational war is. Through his conversations with the aliens and his very random states of mind. By down playing the facts and horrific details of the war and the bombing of Dresden with such strange experiences with aliens and then random other stories from his childhood and his life as an optometrist it shows how irrational and unnecessary war really is.
When I first picked up the book I had heard many things about how this is one of the greatest anti-war books of its time, but until now I didn't really understand how. Just by the fact of how Billy ended up in a mental institution and thought that he could travel in time is an indication of what war can do to a person. Although it was extremely obvious how the main character was affected, the book did not go into detail about the specifics of what made him the way he was. This is a key part to how he actually feels about war in general.

What's in a title?; chpt 6 prompt #18

As you already know the title of the book I am reading is Slaughterhouse-five. On page 152 of chapter 6 we find out why. "The Americans were taken to the fifth building inside the gate. It was a one-story cement-block cube with sliding doors in front and back. It had been built as a shelter for pigs about to be butchered. Now it was going to serve as a home away from home for one hundred American prisoners of war." "There was a big number over the door of the building. The number was five. Before the Americans could go inside, their only English-speaking guard told them to memorize their simple address, in case they got lost in the big city. Their address was this: "Schlachthof-funf."
This is obviously the reason for the title of the book. The main character Billy was housed in this slaughterhouse for the majority of his time in Dresden along with when the actual bombing of Dresden occured. If I were to choose a title I would have chosen the same thing because the main plot to the story is how the bombings affected Billy and how he was going to write a book about it. What better title than the place in which he was when he experienced this awful massacre of people-Slaughterhouse-Five.

Some dislikes; chpt 5 prompt #1

Prior to reading this book I tried to get some reviews to find out if I would enjoy it or not. The most common reaction was that you either love it or you hate it and that it is somewhat confusing the first time you read it. Being half way through the book prompted me to stop and think about how I feel about the story thus far.

This chapter placed great emphasis on Billy's experience with the Tralfamadorians. Throughout the story there have been a few small experiences with the aliens but nothing too significant. I don't particularly like the sections that take place on Tralfamadore. I find them somewhat confusing and irrelevant to the story. I think if I were to read the story over again, it may make sense as to the message Billy is tryin to get across through these experiences with the aliens. If I were his daughter I would have him admitted to the mental hospital as well, with all that talk about aliens.

However, if I were to take a guess at what the meaning behind the space travel, I think there might be quite a lot to it. For one, it shows how emotionally damaging war can be and how it can actually make people go insane, the experiences from war never go away. Also I think Billy could be trying to tell the reader something about the human race. The aliens see humans and their way of life so differently that there must be some reason for it all.

Words of Wisdom; chpt 4 promt #14

"I am a Tralfamadorian, seeing all time as you might see a stretch of the Rocky Mountains. All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is . Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber." (pg 85-85)
I found this to be a significant quote for several reasons. First of all, I'm not quite sure who the Tralfamadorians are but I think as the story continues I'll be able to figure out who these alien creatures are and what purpose they serve in the book. But I found this quote to be important also because the way they see time is gives us some insight into a theme Vonnegut is trying to get across. I think this way of viewing life will becoming important to Billy Pilgrim and significant to the way he looks at war and how he is trying to make his point to the reader.

Past, Present, Future; chpt 3 prompt #6

I think as the book continues, there will be more stories about the war and Billy's experiences in Germany. He will constantly go back and forth between the present and the past. He frequently closes his eyes and goes back in time to recall certain experiences. "Somewhere in there was Christmas. Billy Pilgrim nestled like a spoon with the hobo on Christmas night, and he fell asleep, ad he traveled in time t 1967 again--to the night he was kidnapped by a flying saucer from Tralfamadore. " (pg 71) This continues to happen and I think it will persist throughout the entire story and through this he tells about what happened and what is happening in his life. It is almost like a puzzle that the reader as to put together as the book goes along. I'm interested to see what happens next with him and Roland Weary as their train arrives.

I found this article discussing how this form of writing is used and i thought it is interesting to have a little insight as to how it is used and why.

So it goes?; chpt 2 Prompt #2

There are several parts about this chapter that puzzled and confused me. The author tells a story about the main character Billy Pilgrim but it is short and not very detailed. Some of them are even hard to believe. At the end of almost all of his recounted stories he writes "So it goes." This makes me think maybe that didn't really happen and is just made up. For example, on pages 36-37 he recalls a story about torture and then says So it goes.
What made me think about this even more is the fact that in the first chapter which was sort of like an introduction, the author said "All this happened, more or less." Then goes on to explain how pretty much everything is true except for the names of people.

Thesis

While in his younger years Ernesto 'Che' Guevara was determined to make the world a better place, he soon lost sight of himself and never accomplished the positive impact he originally intended.

Do Now

After reading the section on Peru, which cities and towns do you think had the greatest impact on Che and how do you see him changing from these different experiences?

Style and so on; chpt 1 prompt #11

From the very first sentence of the book I noticed that the author has a very unique style of writing. His style is definitely not difficult to read, but I can see it being hard to follow. This first chapter was more like an introduction to what the rest of the story is going to be about and almost a sort of explanation. In the 22 pages of this first chapter the character recounted numerous events with only a sentence or so of description.

I feel as though his brief stories of little detail and seemingly little importance will actually have a much deeper meaning than it comes off, that the short choppy sentences are making a statement about how he felt about the people and places he encountered. Also, I think this change of style will most likely add to my enjoyment of hte book especially becuase it is very much the opposite of The Motorcycle Diaries where Che feels the need to go so incridibly in depth about the most insignificant of events which I find exhausting to read at times, so a change of pace will be refreshing.

Independent Reading Book!

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut centers on the infamous firebombing of Dresden and Billy Pilgrim's experience through it. Throughout the next few weeks as I am reading, there will be posts about the book. Since there are 10 chapters and 10 prompts it works out quite nicely. Tere should be a new post almost everyday if not every other. They will be mixed in with Do Nows and other entries, so keep an eye out for them!

Good Intentions Go Unrecognized

If Che were to answer the questions 'Who do I want to become?' and 'What impact do I want to have on the world around me?' he would have a lot to say. I think he wanted to become someone who made a difference and someone that many people would remember. I think it was very important to him to help others. Even though the way he did this changed throughout his life, for example first he wanted to become a doctor and it slowly progressed into leading an uprising. When he realized that simply being a doctor would not accomplish the huge goals he had in mind he had to take a more political approach. I think that Che wanted to become the person to bring social and economic equality to the world in an ideal fashion, yet he ended up having an overall negative impact on society due to some of his brutal actions while he was in Cuba.

Above I included a link to a timeline we made about Che's life and I think that is extremely helpful in showing how throughout the years his goals and actions drastically changed. Below I also included a video of how Che is viewed by most people today. It fails to explain and portray the years of his youth, I believe he always wanted to do what was best for everyone but his approach now comes off as negative to most.

Chile in Six Words

Augusto Pinochet highly disliked among Chileans.

America in Six Words

Solution: use debt to undo debt.

Personal Ideology

I personally believe that people should always be themselves and always be honest. I think even if the truth might be hurt it is better to say that because it always comes out in the end and having the trust of other people is more important than making sure you don't hurt their feelings one time or another, I think they appreciate it more knowing whats real to begin with. Also, you should always be yourself, which may change but to not change because of someone else, change because it is in your own best interest.

Voice

Through voice we get a deeper understanding of who Ernesto is.
On page 41 he describes an experience at the hospital, "I made an impressive spectacle: gaunt, flushed, enormous eyes and a ridiculous beard whose shape didn't change much in all the months I wore it."Here he uses good syntax and sentence structure. He used this way to describe how he looked while at the hospital and I think it was very effective in getting across that same image in a little bit of a different way.
On page 47 Ernesto describes a meeting with some of Alberto's friends, " We shared big friendly hugs and wet immediately to celebrate by filling out guts with frothy liquid, as in the dignified practise on such occasions." Here Ernesto uses great diction or word choice to portray this image and I feel he picked powerful words to describe something that in essence is not that interesting of an event but he makes it seem as though it was fun and exciting.

Dear Che,

I just read that "the person who wrote these notes passed away the moment his feet touched Argentine soil again." I was wondering where he went, and what happened to him? Who is it that took his place, who was the person that set foot on Argentine soil? This all makes me wonder how it is that experiences can change people, how one day you could know someone and then a little while later it is as if you've never met them. I would just like some insight on what it was that was moving and life changing, and how the old you passed away and there was a completely different person who returned to Argentina.

Che's Ideology

I think that Che's ideology was very different from Fidel Castro's. I think he truly wanted good for all. I'm not sure which set of beliefs or doctrine may have guided him but it seems as though he had the best of intentions. For example, in the documentary when he made a speech and verbally attacked the Soviet Union for not spreading the wealth with third world countries. It also seems to me that Che thought there had to be a common belief f philosophy to be able to get a large group of people to cooperate and work together to get something done. Although many people have put Che in a category with Joseph Stalin, Hitler, etc. I think that his ideology was very different and that he had good intentions for the people of Cuba unlike the others.

If I were to make a documentary it would be about college sports compared to professional sports. I have always found sports at the college level way more interesting and exciting than that of professionals. I would get background on both levels as well as talk to many different players, coaches, announcers, and fans to see what they have to say. I think this would be relevant to todays audience because there are so many people that are huge sports fans, both professional and college.

My Documentary on Che Guevara

If i were to make a documentary about Ernesto Che Guevara I would cover the major events that happened in his life, things that really effected Cuba. But I only know so much about him so I would have to do a little more investigating on what actually went on during his life time. So my documentary would sort of be like a time line. I would then talk to various people, Cuban citizens , US government officials, representatives for foreign countries that he dealt with, and find their opinion and feelings and views towards him to form somewhat of an opinion and idea of who his is.

ROAD TRIP!

I have been on long car rides before but I don't really think that counts as a road trip. However, I have always wanted to go to Europe. I would love to see England, Germany, France, Italy, etc. I think if i were to plan a road trip I would travel to Europe, by plane obviously, with a couple friends. We would use several means of transportation depending on which city; bus, train, taxi.
It would be really cool to spend a whole summer traveling and visit all of the many historical sights of many of the European countries. A camera would definitely be necessary. Although it wouldn't technically be a road trip, because I think that means traveling solely by automobile, it would be really awesome.

Expectations for The Motorcylce Diaries

Heading into this book I have mixed feelings, obviously after watching the segment of the Glen Beck Show Che Guevara was an awful person, but I have a feeling that reading about him as a younger man might change that a little. Maybe there is a part of him that would make people want to idolize him. Also, I’m kind of interested to learn about how life was during this time, like the history part of it, I think it could be cool. Maybe learning about his life will give insight to understanding why he acted the way he did, it could in some way be justified.

Judging a Book by it's Cover

When I first look at a book some things that catch my eye or that I look out for are the picture on the cover, the title, the font of the title, and if it has won any awards or if it has any reviews. Usually the types of covers that attract my attention are colorful but pretty simple with the title fairly large and in a plain font. I’ve found the way a book looks really affects if I want to read it or not. There isn’t a particular book that sticks out that held my interest the entire time starting with the cover.

Exeucted more in first 3 yrs than in Hitlers first 6?

I think that Glen Beck made a lot of good points. I think it is interesting how he points out how ignorant people in Hollywood are to actual history and facts. They would never wear a shirt with a picture of Stalin or Hitler on it, but essentially this is the same thing. By explaining the things Che Guevara did, like start Cuban labor camps and run all aspects of Cuban prisons Beck further proves how crazy it is that people would show support for such a person. So obviously I agree with his claims, Che Guevara can easily be put in a category with Chavez and Castro and Hitler, and the idea of him being so popular among Hollywood makes no sense what-so-ever. Then again this makes me think, if he really was such an awful person and did all these horrible things, wouldn't more people know about it? Sure there is a lot of information that people are completely ignorant of but something of this magnitude you would think more people would have knowledge of. There must be more to the story than just the claims that Glen Beck made.
The style and voice he uses on his show are very straight-forward and sarcastic. Beck easily makes you think about how absurd the idolizing of Che Guevara is. His tone of voice immediately makes you not want to actually believe what he is saying because you can tell he doesn't actually believe it himself.

Post #1

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