Change is a tough thing for anyone, but in Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger it would be Holden Caulfield. Holden is a 16 year old boy who left Pencey, his high school in Pennsylvania and ran away to New York City to get away from the "phonies." That was him in the beginning of the book, but at the end where he reunites with his sister, Phoebe in NYC, he seemed to change. And a lot too.


Holden is really different from most teenagers, he trusts nobody, sometimes I think he barely trusts himself. He thinks everyone around him is a "phony" except really for his family. In the beginning of the story, he has a such a negative attitude- it's quite annoying. As he went through his little adventure in the city, Holden realizes some things. In NYC, he encounters many problems like in his hotel room, with Sally Hayes, his sister and more. In all of that chaos, Holden unfolds an important thing about himself.


Some people might not think that Holden didn't change, but I definitely think he did. He went from a person who thought everyone was a phony to a person who learned to accept society even though it sucks. At the end of the book, he sat around in the rain that soaked him while everyone including Phoebe went underneath the carousel, he didn't call them phonies or anything. He let them be. He learned to accept life and not preoccupy himself by saving innocent people from the bad of the world, because he knew he can't. Especially. his little sister, Phoebe. All those times he got annoyed from the "fuck you"'s written everywhere, he knew he couldn't protect her. He learned to accept his environment. For once.


Holden forgot about everything and tried to change himself for the good too. He took everyone's advice, more of Mr. Antoliini. He took it into effect, and I personally think it was for the better. Holden's negative attitude was getting to a point where it was actually really annoying. That's what makes Catcher in the Rye an excellent read, you don't know what to expect. And that's J.D Salinger leaves you with.


Zarrin Syeda 813.

Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye.

                              

The Catcher in the Rye, a timeless classic by the famous J.D. Salinger brings you back into New York City in the 1950s. It's about a boy named Holden, Holden Caulfield. Holden attended a school named Pencey in Pennsylvania, before getting kicked out for his terrible academic performance. Pencey was not a place Holden loved, it was filled with a bunch of "phonies" as Holden says, like his classmates Ackley, Stradlater, and teacher Mr. Spencer. After leaving "phony" Pencey, he head out to New York City with out telling anyone where he's headed. Except knowing that he will only know what adventure he has ahead of him.

 Holden is a crazy kid with many problems, mostly internal. His problem best describes as man vs. himself. Man, or Holden vs. himself seems to be a big problem- he's faced with a bunch of "phonies" everywhere around him and his idea of phonies is just ruining him causing him to do things such as running off to NYC.  Another would be himself against society, that no one is good for him. He believes everyone to be "phonies" and that he cannot relate to anyone. His family even takes a toll on his problems, Allie his brother died of leukemia at 11, his sister Pheobe leaves him worried and DB his older brother impression on Holden leaves him even more cracked. His externals man vs. society seem to lead him to man vs. himself, his surroundings are ruining him. In the inside. 

Holden is alone in the whole story so far except for a few parts. One person that is always apart of his life would be Allie. Allie, his dead brother. Allie's death took a terrible effect on Holden, it left him thinking everyone is a "phony", he can't trust anyone. His death also causes Holden to be more close to his little sister, Phoebe. He's afraid of losing her like he lost Allie, he doesn't want to be a bad example to her as he loves her too much. And lastly, Allie leads to Jane. Jane is Jane Gallagher, a girl who was neighbors with Holden and who he liked for a while. Allie bought Jane closer to Holden, she was the first person to get close to him after Allie's death. Even if Allie is dead, he's still a very important part because he brought Holden close to everyone. Also because he brought Holden's internal problems.

Allie is a pretty big influence on Holden for quite a lot of reasons. Allie's death made him understand, or think what's real and what's not- who's phony. He brought Holden closer to a lot of people. But, mostly because he is the main cause of Holden's internal thinking/problem. Allie was actually the reason Holden even ran away to NYC. The night Stradlater asked Holden to write an English composition, he wrote about a baseball glove, something valuable to Allie. When Stradlater thought it wasn't good enough, his mind set on phonies and just leaving. Again, even though Allie is not a vital part in the book, he is in Holden's heart where he will remember Allie, his 11 year old leukemia dead brother.

Zarrin Syeda 813.

If only there were Paper Towns.

Just today, I started reading Paper Towns by John Green. The first thing I've noticed in Green's writing is the narrator in the stories are boys, really just talking about girls. The main character in the story is Quentin, and his best friend Margo. Margo Roth Spielberg. Margo is Quentin or "Q"s best friend, they have been neighbors since forever. The weird thing is though, he's in love with her. And she doesn't know it. And, and she has a boyfriend.

Even though I have just started reading Paper Towns, I've noticed some intentional things Green did. Right before I was reading this, I was reading another book by John Green called Looking for Alaska. In that book and this one, the narrator is a guy. I've also noticed that in both books, the narrator talks about girls- girls they love. Green's writing includes a lot about teenage love, mistakes and hobbies. 

Since I started reading Paper Towns today, I have a lot to predict. In the blurb, it says a lot. It says something mysterious is going to happen. And I predict that it will happen from Margo, because according to Q, she's beautiful, mysterious and everything else. I also predict that even if she has a boyfriend she's going to end up leaving him for Quentin, because that's why typically happens. Or she's going to tell him she loves him back but they don't end up together.

Overall, I think Paper Towns is going to be a great book like the last book I read by John Green! I like it because a lot of teenagers can relate to it. And Green's intentional moves are always very unique. His writing leaves  a reader thinking what his next move will be. I kind of can relate to Quentin and Margo but not with the love relationship, just the friendship part. Everyone should go check out Paper Towns, Looking for Alaska and Abundance for Katherines!


Zarrin Syeda 813.
 

Baz Luhrmann: Romes + Jules. Good/Bad? Eh.

We just finished watching Baz Luhrmann's interpretation of the famous, Romeo and Juliet in class. I'm just going to say it right now- I didn't like it. 

Romeo + Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is about a pair of "star cross'd lovers" who dies because of their families differences and fighting. It's supposed to be a tragedy. Right? Right, well I guess not according to Baz Luhrmann. I found it more as a comedy rather a tragedy. Why?, you ask.

Kay, let me tell you why.

 Luhrmann stated, "The language was always going to be the challenge. How to hold a modern audience with a language they didn't know and probably presumed would be too hard? The secret key is visual clues."

Which I actually, agree with it. In the interpretation, he included color, weather and great acting, which is good since he's trying to modernize Romeo + Juliet. I praise Luhrmann for being so creative, and trying to modernize it to fit an audience that is not so used to artsy language. The color in the movie was incredible- for darker, more sad scenes he made the color darker and for happier scenes, he made the color lighter. The weather was great too, especially the scene of Mercutio's death- the power of the storm in that scene, wow. It blew me away. Especially to know it's not fake, but it was real according to Luhrmann, And as for the acting, amazing as well- who could have not been a better Romeo than the Mister Romeo, Leonardo DiCaprio himself. Luhrmann seemed to have thought it all out perfectly. 

If I just complimented Luhrmann, then why are you bashing him in the beginning? I'll tell you why now.

Because he tried to make it too modern. Since it's a tragedy, you'd expect me to "cry" more rather laugh- I tell you the opposite, because it's the truth. In the beginning, the fight scene between the Montagues + Capulets was a complete joke. Even though the modern<old aspect was ingenious, the way it was set up I guess wasn't just right for this story. No, not Romeo + Juliet- please, don't mess up the classics.

Even though I didn't like it, I'm glad Ms. Robbins showed it to us. I'm glad, because otherwise I feel like I would have been lost while reading the play. I mean, I have a pretty good hang of what's going on, but the visual that comes up in my head is really, from Baz Luhrmann's version.

I mean, I would recommend if you want to see something quick + easy to get an idea of R & J.

From the poster: hope, despair, and tragedy? LAWL

how about: laugh, smile and _____ (fill in the blank!)

Zarrin 813.

Ham on Rye Sandwich

Right now, I am reading this crude-funny, and enthralling book called Ham on Rye by the wonderful, Charles Bukowski. When I first saw this book, Daisy was reading it- actually, this is her book. At first, I thought it was some boyish book and it looked so boring, but then she showed me some funny parts in it and I fell in <3 with it. I'm not very into the book yet, only on pg. 51 yet this book had me laughing countless times in project R.E.A.L.

This story is about a boy named Henry Chinaski, a small boy living with his Mother, Katherine and his cruel father, Henry. Other people included was Emily, his crazy grandmother on his Father's side, Leonard, another crazy grandfather who Emily divorced for being a alcoholic, Ben, Henry's Uncle who's dying of tuberculosis up in the high mountains, and lastly, Anna, his Aunt who was abandoned by his uncle John, with no money and no food. You might think, 50 pages in and already so much family? Actually the story starts into family conflicting which I think was interesting, usually the stories I've read so far gives out kind of a introduction [?] and then starts into the story. Ham on Rye is actually a autobiographical (semi) on Charles Bukowski, the author's life. Henry Chinaski is said to be his alter ego, according to the blurb of the book. All of the characters in the book were modeled after his own family, which I found quite interesting- it's such a weird mix, something I'd expect to be fiction type material. Anyway the story so far is about Henry, he lives with his parents who alienates him from playing with other kids, with talking out too much, just behaving bad. His father beats him often, for no reason sometimes. He talks about his school life and his family life, and the girl next door (ooooh...) Lila Jane, I believe her name is. I forgot, anyway he meets her and they get along, they play together and kiss (he's just in second grade.. aw) and he asks her to have sex, which was one of the things that made me laugh.

In the book, he reminds me of a limp little boy who doesn't know anything about the world, yet he turns out to be one of the tough guys everyone's scared of. And to think his parents don't let him hang with other's, I think it's like a reaction to what his parents caused. Because being so alone the whole time can make a person act up, I think. Well back to Lila Jane, she seems like a big part but she's really not, I think she was a crush type thing and how they're all happy together now but I predict that when Henry's older, she'll 'leave' him because she'll be one of the pretty girls and he's going to be a fat boy with acne who's obsessed with sex. I don't know... just a thought.

Overall, I love this book and I cannot put it down. I guess the real lesson is you should never judge a book by it's cover, because then I wouldn't be reading this right now! It's interesting how it's a book after his life... wow even more interesting, he must've had a fun life. Sarcasm intended. I recommend this to anyone, but on the older more mature side because this book is pretty crude, -ahem- dirty.

Yours truly,

Zarrin S Class 813 [:

11 All Star Mentors & Counting...

There are so many amazing, thought provoking blogs out there in the ELA blogging world, but I chose only a few to write about in my "All Stars Mentor" post today.


1- Hannah Seitz 813: It goes on for generations.
Hannah never fails to impress me with her exquisite writing. She writes so much, it's crazy. Every line she types has humor, and a unique feeling to it. All of her titles have interesting titles, always with a story behind it. When I mean that, I mean this post. It starts off with, "It goes on for generations..." which got me hooked as soon as I read it! Hannah's posts have a lot of opinions which I personally enjoy, to see how people take a different perspective on it. Like I was saying before, her posts are SO long. She always breaks 3 paragraph limit, which I appreciate because not a lot of people do it. Everyone should check out Hannah's amazing blog, I love it. <3


2- Mustafa Almuradi 813: The Hunger Games
Mustafa's post are ALWAYS on top. This one exceptionally stood out to me. In this particular blog post, he gave a lot of detail on the book and what he thought about it. He included a small moment, which I love doing when I write blog posts. The questions in the beginning of his blog post got me really thinking about The Hunger Games since it's been a while since I read it. It got me thinking again about the book. His posts always really grab my attention, they're just great! Check 'em out.


3- Rafaele MacDougall 813: My head hurts.
Rafaele's blogs is definitely one of my favorite blogs of all time. His blogs are so funny, and are always interesting. He includes vocab words like me, in a good way too. His posts are short but to the point. His titles always catches my attention, even if they're as simple as "My head hurts." In his blog, he includes bits of his life & other stories which I think is fascinating- I love reading it! Also, his posts include passion and it looks like he takes time on it, I can definitely see that through every line he types. I knew Raf is really dedicated to writing his posts because really, he has 36 posts! WOW! That's incredible, like I can't express how good that is! 
I could write all day about his posts, that's how good they are. (: PLEASE GO READ ALL 36 OF HIS POSTS! They're worth it.


4- Kayla Cruz 812: Dear John
I lovelovelove this post so much mostly because of the small moment included. The moment she included, I could relate to because I read the book and watched the movie with Kayla! I always read Kayla's post, and I felt that this was one of her strongest posts because it was exceptionally long and very detailed. I also really enjoyed it because it was really structured unlike my posts, so I definitely look at this as a mentor for structure. I read beyond the spoiler and completely related to what she was feeling. At the end she gave kind of a warning because it's a really emotional book to read like all Nicholas Sparks' books, and I admired that because going into a book you never know what you'll expect. Anyway, loved the post. I look forward to more posts like this from Kayla (:


5- Daisy Faragher 813: What Does "Disney" Have to do With Slavery and Prostitution?
Daisy's blogs like Rafaele's is one of my favorites. Especially this post, she really unpacked a topic no one, I would think would ever do. It showed how good of a eye she has. The title of this post was so captivating even my sister wanted to read it! I love this post because it's not a typical reading post, she went deeper into what anyone could have. Her posts are really lively like I can imagine her saying what she says in her posts in real life. They're also super long, I wanna make my posts as long as her's, so that definitely makes her a mentor for me. Her posts is a good mentor for anyone- it shows detail, structure & theory. Check out her blog, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did.


6- Gigi Salimeni 813: Can you be changed by the....."goods" ???!
This is one of my favorite posts of all time mostly because it was really humorous, well in my mind. Gigi showed her true potential in writing in this post. It's really detailed. Her title really got me thinking, like what was the sacred "goooooooooooods??!?!?"She was really opinionated in this piece which I loved because I adore opinion based writing just to get a look at people's heads. Gigi definitely shows off a lot of feeling and meaning in her writing. This piece should have been picked for "All Star Mentor of the Week!" so should all of the ones above, people should get the credit they deserve.


7- Nina Attal 813: It's Actually, Kind Of A Funny Story
Wow! I was waiting to write about Nina's posts. Honestly, all of her posts are amazing, like so good I don't want to single any of her's out. BUT, I have to. I picked this post because I could have kinda related to it. I like how the post consisted of her picking up the book, like seeing it not reading it. It was a different kind of post. Her titles are very clever too, they give me an insight of what she's going to talk about in her writing. This is a blog to definitely to check out really!


8- Keiame Lee Chong 813: Sometimes, The Cover Means A Lot.
I love Keiame's blog, always will. It's so funny and clever at the same time. Her structure's sosososo good, that's what makes her my mentor. Of the week? No, of all time. I like how her posts start off with a story, a moment sometimes a retell. Her retells are really good, she gives the right amount of info- not too much, not too little. She's an amazing writepurpor! I would love if everyone checked out her blog.


9- Pip Van Genabeek 813: The list of events that Great expectations gives you.
Well, to start off- Pip's writing is.... well.... wonderful! All his posts are great, filled with meaning and purpose. I love this post, because it's Pip writing about Pip! At first, I was like "...what?" but then that's what caught my eye! Pip was the main character of the book the Great Expectations. It made me want to read it to see if the character was like Pip, himself. I can tell he puts a lot of effort in his writing, it really shines through!


10- Isabelle Fernandez 804: the world kind of sucks...
I have only been on her blog once or twice since she's not in my class but I absolutely love her blog! When I first went on her page, I got this weird feeling, a good feeling. A feeling of good writing. In her blog, she incorporates a lot of music & fashion- I admire her for that because she goes outside of ELA/reading to write about something she loves. Her titles are really interesting too. 


11- Janee Brice 813: The Book Theif
I love this post because of the title. At first, I thought she was writing about the book, The Book Theif but she wasn't. She was talking about HP. I loved how the title was a different thing from what she was writing about. Her writing has a lot of passion & meaning. Everyone should check out her prodigious blog!


I wish I could talk about everyone's blog, but I'm limited so check out everyone above- they're amazing, seriously!


Yours truly,
Zarrin S Class 813 (:

Farewell at Nightfall

                                                                         Nightfall,
                                                                         She to the left,
                                                                         Him to the right,
                                                                         Farewell at last.


                                                                         He opened the door knob,
                                                                         She pushed through the gate,
                                                                         He looked back, and so did she,
                                                                         "Farewell, sister!", he yelled.
                                                                         Then opened the door and,
                                                                         Walked in. 


                                                                         Sister laid there,
                                                                         And took the knife,
                                                                         Put it through her chest,
                                                                         She dropped.
   
                                                                         Looked out into nightfall,
                                                                         "Farewell brother, farewell."
                                                                         

Stories I Ain't Told Nobody Yet.

Stories I Ain’t Told Nobody Yet
By: Jo Carson

Mountain people
can't read,
can't write,
don't wear shoes,
don't have teeth,
don't use soap,
and don't talk plain.
They beat their kids,
beat their friends,
beat their neighbors,
and beat their dogs.
They live on cow peas,
fatback and twenty acres
straight up and down.
They don't have money.
They do have fleas,
overalls,
tobacco patches,
shacks,
shotguns,
foodstamps,
liquor stills,
and at least six junk cars in the front yard.
Right?
Well, let me tell you:
I am from here,
I'm not like that
and I am damned tired of being told I am.

Observations:

• In the poem, I noticed that she wrote in a very interesting format. She wrote in a way, like she was trying to get to the point of what she was trying to assert. The poem was organized in a way where there was a lot of rising action, or tension until it was shown at the end. Because at the end, she really gave a lot of feeling/emotion toward the subject. 
• I also observed that in the piece, the author used a lot of repetition. For each section, if I could break it up she used the same word for the beginning of each line (for the most part) like; "can't, don't, beat & they". If you were to break up this poem into a couple of stanzas, there would be 5. One for each part.
• Lastly, I noticed that she didn't use many descriptive words, her piece actually sounds like a draft. It sounds like she's telling a person her story. Because she just keeps going in the beginning, without stopping. But then at the end, she stops a little to ask for almost an opinion? And then says what she thinks, which is not good. She's, "... and I am damned tired of being told I am." She really showed how she felt on how people treated her or reacted. 

Interpretation:
  After persuing this poem a couple of times, I can conclude some things. The title, it's called 'Stories I Ain't Told Nobody Yet' maybe it actually means she didn't tell anybody yet. Deeper, maybe it means she's been bottling up the feeling of hurt/tough times for so long, and she never told anyone how she felt, that it was the first time. She decided to tell someone about it in poem form. 

 After reading the poem for the last time, before typing this. It left me with a deep feeling, too. I guess the whole purpose for the poem was to tell people how Carson was feeling when people told her how mountain people are, & it left me feeling about how I grope when someone says stuff about me or a group of people when I feel it's untrue. Like for example: When people say Muslim people do this or do that, when really look I'm Muslim, but I don't do those things. 

I can tell she meant to say stop being so stereotypical because that's not how everyone is. Like the image I get; when I read the ending about her being so upset is how I feel sometimes. Also, when she kept using the repetitive language in the middle of the poem, it gives the image of a mutual feeling, something that keeps coming back to bite you. But a bad thing. 

Further thoughts:
I think that the way Carson stated her feelings into the poem was very unique. She told the readers what happened, and then said how she felt about it. Which I think is always good. She didn't jump to any conclusions or accusations, but gave her thoughts on it. I think that nowadays, there's a lot of problems with stereotypical groups of people that target another group. And really, people don't usually solve the problems the way Carson did. The real way to solve things is to talk it out, not to hurt/hate. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this poem. I was introduced to it last year in ELA. I think it really shows a true message, & it's just well written!

*Black, underlined words are for the Writing Challenge.
 

Too Much.

I'm in the midst of reading this frivolous, comical yet touching novel called Slam by Nick Hornby. Just saying now, basically what this book is about is; sex, skateboarding and family. Anyway, it's about a blasé, adolescent boy named Sam. He likes to talk to his Tony Hawk poster in his room everyday, and Tony actually responds back to him! The characters in the book are really his two, divorced parents, Andrea and I forgot his Dad's name, Alicia and well that's it... for now. Alicia is his girlfriend. And this girl, I swear is a nymphomaniac. She is obsessed with sex! You know, a lot of people would feel weird about writing about sex on a school blog, I mean I am kind of but this is one of the most important topics & problems in the book.Grr, the way she acts bothers me so much, like she's a girl, she's not the boy who's supposed to be preoccupied with that kind of stuff. Whatever. I'm not really deep into the book, like 60 pages? So I can't say much. But I do expect things to happen.

In the story, Sam's mother is a young woman, "she’s only three years older than David Beckham, and four years younger than Jenifer Aniston," he likes to say. I think in the book, if not already, Sam's mother, Andrea becomes an important figure. Sam and his relationship with Andrea isn't all that great especially because of the divorce with his father. And also, because she had Sam at 16. That fact is really important to Sam, it seems because he keeps bringing it up, he always mentions that he was a "mistake". The part i'm up to right now is mostly about how Andrea feels about sex. She asked him if him and Alicia were sexually active and he was too uncomfortable to answer especially because of his Mom's "mistake". I wonder why his Mom cares so much? Like it was her mistake, and he could do whatever he wants. Maybe she's looking out for Alicia, what do you think? And they are sexually active too, just because Alicia's crazy, sex-driven chick. (Seriously, she wanted to have sex on the 2nd date... weirdo.) I predict that something really bad's going to happen to them, as a couple. Either they break up or i'm just so sure Alicia gets pregnant, or even both! I mean it would be predictable now, for girls to pregnant. But there's just something, i'm just more lenient toward the break up, because he did mention that they might so yeah. This book's kind of a lot to take in.

Basically, this is a very interesting story and everything that happens is just a page turner! I hope I actually get to finish (probably will). I recommend this to anyone, more to boys cause I think it'd be more relatable but if you're a girl or just any teen that wants to read this, then they should cause it's about adolescence. Oh and also, since the author, Nick Hornby is British (research) it has some British words like "bloody hell", etc... so if you like those kinds of books, definitely give this a try!

Even though it sounds too focused on one topic, I think it will show an important lesson in the end, I just don't know what. Mystery, mystery...

I hope you find this post as funny as I did when I was typing it! :D

If you want a better summary/overview, you should read the review from The New York Times here.

*Black, underlined words are for the Writing Challenge.  

Yours truly, 

Zarrin S Class 813. [: