Summer Assignment Entry Four: Looking For Alaska By John Green

Looking for Alaska, by John Green, is definitely in my top 5 favorite books! It hooked you from the very beginning and continued to surprise you and it kept you wanting to read. The reasons I chose this novel are the fact that it was written by John Green, one of my favorite authors and that it was a romance/action book. I am not the type of girl who likes romance books but when it is paired with action or mystery I really enjoy them. Another reason why I chose this book was the cover. It is plain, but it makes you ask so many questions. For example, "Why the smoke? Why is the cover black? Does that mean something bad may happen (usually darker covers mean a "darker" novel)? What does the smoke have to do with love?" I did have quite a few personal connections with this novel. A few of the connections I had were  feelings of loss. When my great grandfather died, that hit me really hard. It was summer break at the time so my grades did not suffer but it was very hard to finally let go. Another connection I made was to Pudge. He started off as a very shy boy and turned into a more outgoing and loud boy with a little help from his friends. I used to be very shy until I met one of my best friends who broke me out of my shell. Finally, my last connection is with Alaska. She seemed to have many conflicts or stress throughout the school year but when break came she let some of it go and became happier and less worried. I have those same problems as well. I stress about juggling homework and sports and family time and it becomes very overwhelming. It can make you irritable and sometimes moody which Alaska did show. Once break comes, it makes you feel a sigh of relief because you have a more open schedule.

I loved this book so much! I would recommend it to freshman and up. The only reason I recommend that age is because there are curse words and a few inappropriate situations plus the use of alcohol and drugs. If you do not like romance and/or action, then I would not recommend this book to you. If you do not like death or someone being involved in an accident and being killed, then this is not the book for you. If you like all of those things mentioned above, then this will be a great read! You will not regret it. You won't be able to put it down once you have picked it up.

Summer Assignment Entry Three: Looking For Alaska By John Green

I have to say Looking for Alaska, by John Green has had so many hooks. It is such a great book. It always makes you want to read more. The hook below is from the beginning of the book and it is when the Weekday Warriors start to make the pranks very serious. Usually, they take the new kids and throw them in the lake and make them swim back, but Pudge was a different story. On page 25, it states,"When we reached the beach, they told me to put my arms at my sides, and the beefiest guy grabbed two rolls of duct tape from the sand. With my arms flat against my sides like a soldier at attention, they mummified me from my shoulder to my wrists. Then they threw me down on the ground; the sand from the fake beach cushioned the landing, but I still hit my head. Two of them pulled my legs together while the other one—Kevin, I'd figured out—put his angular, strong-jawed face up so close to mine that the gel-soaked spikes of hair pointing out from his forehead poked at my face, and told me, "This is for the Colonel. You shouldn't hang out with that asshole." They taped my legs together, from ankles to thighs. I looked like a silver mummy. I said, "Please guys, don't," just before they taped my mouth shut. Then they picked me up and hurled me into the water." As you can tell the boys took it way too far! They almost killed Pudge! He barely managed to make it to the shore. He made himself float and then used the mermaid style of swimming to get himself safely back to shore. Once he got back to the school, he immediately went to Alaska's room. She wasn't very helpful. She made jokes and wasn't there to comfort him but she didn't know how far the Weekday Warriors had taken it either. Next, Pudge went back to his room and told Colonel everything and of course that made him very angry. Colonel immediately started thinking of ways to get them back. Colonel had declared war on the Weekday Warriors.

Summer Assignment Entry Two: Looking For Alaska By John Green Spoiler Alert!

Looking for Alaska, includes the four main characters that I mentioned above: Colonel, Pudge, Takumi and Alaska. Colonel is a dynamic character. At the very beginning, he was happy, loving life, loving being with his friends and fairly close to his home. As the book goes on, he becomes angrier and more mischievous because the "Weekday Warriors" (the rich kids) started playing pranks on them. The Weekday Warriors were playing pranks on them because of the previous year. Someone (no one knew who at the time) ratted out Paul and Marya when they were being inappropriate towards each other and they were expelled from school. The Weekday Warriors always assumed that it was the Colonel and his friends but in truth, it wasn't. At the very end, Colonel and his friends go through the most traumatic thing anyone can go through which makes him become a very depressed and more quiet person. Alaska, one of his best friends dies. He started dropping his grades and not even attending all of his classes. As for Pudge, he is also a dynamic character. He started out as the shy nerd who turned into the outgoing nerd, with a little help from Colonel and Alaska. Pudge wasn't as into the pranking as Colonel because he had never done anything bad like that. He changed his mind fairly quickly after they nearly drowned him and flooded Alaska's room. Pudge became a stronger and more independent boy as the book moved along until Alaska died. When she died, Pudge shut down. He was in denial for the longest time. He thought that Alaska was pulling one of her pranks again but Eagle had to calm him down and explain to him that he saw her at the crime scene and that she had died instantly. He began to let go after a few months and got his grades back up and participated more in class. He still thought of Alaska but he knew she was in a better place.

Takumi was also a dynamic character. He was always involved in the pranks unlike Pudge. He thoroughly enjoyed his time with his friends and during school. He was always a happy guy with a little bit of revenge on his mind when it came to the Weekday Warriors because of the stunts they had pulled on his friends. The biggest change occurred when Alaska died. Like all of the other people that I have mentioned above, he too felt like a part of him was missing but he managed to get back on his feet and continue on with his life. Finally, Alaska, who is different from all the rest. She is a round character. She always always always had a conflict or her mood would change. She is such a complex character, you never know how she will feel next. Throughout the book, she had mood swings. They occurred almost everyday. It was crazy how quickly she could change from happy to upset and hysterical. Those exact moments are the ones that would eventually kill her. So far I have noticed a few themes such as: Love, Friendship and Betrayal. As for structure, my book is almost like a journal. It starts off as, "one hundred thirty-six days before" and it continues to go down until it reaches "one day before". The Before is referring to the death of Alaska. Once her death as occurred, it begins with, " the day after" and goes all the way to " one hundred thirty-six days after" just like the beginning of the book. It really wraps up the book nicely.

Summer Assignment Entry One: Looking For Alaska By John Green

Looking for Alaska, a book by John Green, takes place a little south of Birmingham, Alabama at a school called Culver Creek Preparatory School. Culver Creek is boarding school with very hard classes that constantly challenge its students. All the hard work pays off because it produces some of the smartest kids in the area, compared to other boarding schools that focus more on athletics. However, just because they have good grades, doesn’t meant that they don’t get into trouble. The students always seem to be getting in trouble for drinking or smoking on school grounds. Mr. Starnes, the dean of Culver Creek, aka the Eagle (a name the students call him because he sees and hears everything) created a Jury system. When students were caught doing inappropriate things the dean would tell them a date in which they would appear in front of the Jury (other students) and of course, the Judge, the one and only Mr. Starnes.  The students of the Jury would chose the punishment and Mr. Starnes would approve or change the punishment to whatever he wanted. Most of the time he approved what the Jury came up with. It always seemed to be the same students who kept getting in trouble.

Those students happened to also be the main characters. Miles, aka Pudge, is the new kid on the block, as they say. Chip, aka Colonel, his roommate, gave him that nickname because he is so skinny. Miles is a very shy boy which brings up our first conflict. He has trouble making friends and fitting in. This conflict was quickly resolved when Chip showed him around and took Miles to meet some of his friends. The first person Miles was introduced to was Alaska.  Miles fell for her as soon as he saw her. The first thought that came to his mind when he saw her was, “but I barely heard him because the hottest girl in all of human history was standing before me in cutoff jeans and a peach tank top. And she was talking over the Colonel, talking loud and fast.” Every time he saw her new thoughts would come into his head, he would admire her more and more. He began to slowly fall in love. Sadly a new conflict had arisen, she had a boyfriend.  The last person that Miles was introduced to was a boy named Takumi. They all became best friends as the school year went on, which helped Pudge to become a lot less shy.

Final Blog Assessment 1B

1.    What specific words/phrases demonstrate your writer’s voice? How do these words/phrases showcase your personality as a writer?

    

     The blog post that I chose for my assessment was "Impact of Setting in Divergent". I thought this was my best post for voice because a sentence before I say the first quote I say, "(that's really high up if you ask me...)" (Burton 7/8). That is like a side note or a way to look into my thoughts. You can almost hear me saying it to you as you read the blog. Another example of voice is at the end when I ask the readers a question, I say, "Would you want to jump off of a one hundred story building, only depending on a few people to catch you?" (Burton 7/8). In that example, I am trying to make the reader think or be more engaged if they were not engaged already. As for words, I use crazy (quite frequently) and suspense. Those two words I use quite a bit in my everyday life, so if you knew me well you might be able to hear me more than someone who doesn't necessarily know that!

2.  What purposeful diction AND syntax choices did you make to enhance your writer’s voice? You must choose to discuss at least one diction AND one syntax technique from the list below. Make sure to include textual evidence from your post where you included the diction and syntax choices you discuss.

   I have two examples of formal or elevated diction in my blog post. The first one is, in the very first sentence, I say, "In Divergent, the settings are critical" (Burton 7/8). The word "critical" is an example of formal diction because it makes you pay more attention and it makes my statement seem more important. If I had just said that the settings were important, it wouldn't have sounded as urgent or as important (the irony) as saying they were critical. Another example of diction is when I say, "They got onto a speeding train and took it to the Hancock Building" (Burton 7/8). The word "speeding" is an example of diction because it makes it sound like it is going REALLY really fast. It has that effect because it isn't just saying, it was a fast train. It is giving it more description so it sounds like it is going a lot faster than just a "fast train".  A good example of syntax would be my variety of sentence lengths. For example, I say, "In Divergent, the settings are critical. They set the mood and tone of each event. For example, Tris got invited to go to an event that only Dauntless born initiates were allowed to go to. Not a lot of people were excited that Tris was coming, some even did violent things to her" (Burton 7/8). In the first few sentences I already show a short, medium and a long sentence. A variety of sentence structures keeps the reader engaged because it doesn't seem repetitive and boring.

Conflicts in Divergent in Relationship to the Imagery Provided

Veronica Roth does great with imagery and describing situations. That is one of the reasons that I love her books! Her imagery always fits perfectly with the situation. For example, when Edward got stabbed in the eye, she stated, " A scream like that can only mean blood and bone and pain; that scream comes from the pit of the stomach and extends to every inch of the body. The lights come on. Edward lies on the floor next to his bed, clutching at his face. Surrounding his head is a halo of blood, and jutting between his clawing fingers is a silver knife handle. My heart thumping in my ears, I recognize it as a butter knife from the dining hall. The blade is stuck in Edwards eye" (Roth 202). That quote symbolizes a conflict in Divergent because Tris wasn't really sure what to do at first and no one had any idea of who did it. Roth always uses descriptive words so that you can really picture what is going on. During this quote she uses "jutting", " a halo of blood". You can hear the scream when she says,  "A scream like that can only mean blood and bone and pain; that scream comes from the pit of the stomach and extends to every inch of the body." Her language choices really help you understand what is happening and it makes you feel like you are there witnessing it. Through out the book there are a lot of conflicts and Roth describes each one so that you can fully understand it.

Impact of the setting in Divergent

In Divergent, the settings are critical. They set the mood and tone of each event. For example, Tris got invited to go to an event that only Dauntless born initiates were allowed to go to. Not a lot of people were excited that Tris was coming, some even did violent things to her. Others let it go because Tris needed to get away after seeing what happened to Edward. They got onto a speeding train and took it to the Hancock Building. Roth goes on to explain that the building is one hundred stories high and once the elevator stops, they still have to get on to a ladder to reach the top (that's really high up if you ask me..). Then  Roth explains Tris's reaction, " A strong wind hits me, pushing my hair across my face. There is a gaping hole in the ceiling of the hundredth floor. Zeke props an aluminum ladder against its edge and starts to climb. ... I climb the ladder after Uriah. It reminds me of climbing the rungs on the Ferris wheel with Four close at my heels. ..The wind is so powerful I hear and feel nothing else. I have to lean against Uriah to keep from falling over" (Roth 216-217). Her strong description of both the setting and Tris's emotions, show you how risky what they are about to do is. It shows you really how high up the building is because they higher you are, the more cold and windy it gets. Roth needed strong settings throughout this book because it helps keep the suspense going. The crazy things the Dauntless do, wouldn't see, so crazy if she didn't describe the situations so clearly. Would you want to jump off of a one hundred story building, only depending on a few people to catch you?

Divergent: Character Comparison

I am upset to say that I haven't really gotten to read my book as much as I would like to with all of the make up work and extra work that we are getting from snow days. As of right now, the Dauntless initiates just had there last fight before the ranks came up. Tris was over whelmed with joy when she beat Molly (one of her biggest enemies). She made it in the top ten, at number 6! She had made a huge improvement and just as they were getting comfortable, they heard of more people getting cut. They hurried down to see the list, and they were glad to find that they had moved up in rank. Now Tris is number 5!

I believe that Tris is very similar to Katniss (from The Hunger Games). They are not only similar in personality but in their situations too! They both have to make decisions that will effect the rest of their lives. For example, Katniss made the decision to trade her safety and potentially her life so that her sister didn't have to. Tris is having to hide her true personality, and choose a faction where she thinks that she will best fit in. If she doesn't succeed then it could possibly be the end of her life. Both women have strong parts in their film and book. They both show amazing courage in tough situations, such as when Katniss had to go to the games for the first time. When Tris first jumped off the train and even when she climbed all the way up the Ferris Wheel to help her team win capture the flag, and then proceeded to beat Molly in a fight!

As for a comparison to a real life person, the first person who came to mind is my grandma. She is one of the strongest women that I know! She is truly a role model. She is paraplegic (she is paralyzed from the waist down) and that doesn't stop her from doing anything. She is just like Katniss and Tris in that they all give a lot to others and don't ask for much in return! My grandma is amazing. She has been through so many things and has had to make a lot of hard decisions just like the two I mentioned above! Even though I do not get to spend that much time with her, she has always been there for me.

How my character has changed: Divergent

Right now, in my book, it is visitation day. Visitation day is a time where family can go visit the loved one(s) who had recently chosen a faction to live in. Once Tris had chosen to go to Dauntless and away from her family, I thought that none of her family was going to come visit. As Roth went on to explain Tris's parents emotions, it sounded as if her mother might come and visit. In fact, she did! She was the only person in Tris's family to come and see her. Tris and her mother had a lot of talking to do now that Tris was in Dauntless. Many unexpected things were said! My mind was blown! To find out what was talked about you will have to read the book! Shortly after her mom left, she went to go find Al who hadn't talked to his parents yet. Al told her that he was very embarrassed about his performance so far and didn't want his parents to know. Tris gave him a lot of support and comfort but Al started to take it the wrong way and almost kissed her! Now Tris isn't sure how she feels about him!

Tris is a dynamic character! It seems like some part is changing in her in every chapter. At the very beginning she was a very quiet and shy girl who didn't seem to fit into Abnegation like the rest of her family. Then the most frightening day came, the day of her test. When she finished her test, she was very anxious to see what faction she would be in. Test Results: Inconclusive. Divergent. As those words went through her mind, she became even more scared than before she took the test. Being Divergent was considered dangerous to a lot of the factions. So people who were divergent were considered factionless. Tris had a very important decision to make, which faction would she choose? She had to be fully committed to that faction because if anyone found out that she was divergent or had any suspicions, she would be in trouble. Tris ended up choosing Dauntless. Now she is a loud and very strong woman. She is more aggressive than before she stepped foot into Dauntless initiation. I mean she was the first initiate to jump off a high building! She completely lost her first fight and now she is taking people down in less than 3 minutes. She has become almost a completely different person from the first part of the book.

Divergent Thematic Prompts

I believe that the author wrote this novel because something like this could easily happen to us. When you look at a school, you can already see all of the different groups or factions. There are the populars, nerds, jocks, skaters, etc. Most people would just stay inside there "groups" but then there are the ones that don't really care about groups and like to hang out with everyone. Those people would be considered Divergent. In both our world and in the book people tend to call those people weird and/or sometimes feel threatened by them because they are "different". I think the author is telling us about reality in a way that people would find interesting, while realizing how similar our world is to this book. Another reason that the author wrote this novel could be that he wants us to realize how choices can effect us, sometimes good and sometimes bad. That also connects to real life because we make decisions all the time, even if we don't notice it.