The Color Purple

Celie's letters to god tell us that she is a very calm person and she handles traumatizing situstions very well. For example, on the first page of the book, it describes in detail of her father raping her. Celie does not do anything about it instead she decides to write a letter to god explaining the situation. "But I don't know how to fight.All I know how to do is stay alive."(pg. 17) In this qutoe Celie is told by her sister, I believe, that she has to fight and stand up to her abusive husband and his children. She thinks what she has to do to stay alive is obey their every command and let them get away with whatever they want and she thinks thats the only way.
Celie is a very passive agressive person. Judging by her letters she has no agression towards these people at all. "You got to fight them, Celie, she say. I can't do it for you. Yo got to fight them for yourself." (Pg. 21) Celie is also told by her sister in law that she needs to fight her, once again, abusive husband and his children. She is been told this twice now and she still has no anger what so ever, being shown in the letters, towards any of them. This makes me believe she's either bottling up her emotions or taking it out on something else by being passive agressive.
Judging on Celie's letters, she is thinking that she only has god to talk to. In the begining of the book her father says "You better not tell nobody but god. It'd kill your mammy." It seems like Celie took her fathers threat to the heart and actually told god. It is not entirely clear whether or not sje told her sister, but she definetally told god. It seems like she hasn't fully grown up and wants to believe god can help her but she's not entirely sure.

Final Book Response to Unwind

          The ending to Unwind made me want to cry. Well the only part was when they were unwinding Roland. The actual end made me happy. Suspense is a crazy abundance when reading this book.
        The Lit Circle Discussions helped get some more insight to the book and other peoples perspectives helped me see some parts of the book in a new way. One of the things we discussed in class was being able to unwind someone and then put them back together again like Humphrey Dunfee. It was kind of confusing when they had the story of Humphrey and Connor and Risa in the same chapter. I forgot who was who. It was kind of scary when his parents had everyone in the same room and their conversations started to converge into one and it was like Humphrey was back. We were thinking if they unwound someone would they live when they were put back together? I believe they might be able to do that but no one knows for sure besides Neal Shusterman. Another topic we had was Connor and Roland and how Roland calls Connor a killer when Connor killed people on accident. If someone is killed my accident is that person considered a murderer? Also We were debating on whether or not if Roland was in the crate with Connor if he would kill him or not. Most of us believed he would have. I also think its ironic that in his surgery Connor got Rolands arm, the same arm that was threatening to rape hi girlfriend and kill him.

Response to Unwind 2nd Paperclip

         In my first blog post about what I thought of Unwind I said that the events were unexpected and you never saw what was coming. I still definitely think that, there's a surprise every chapter.  I like how the author has separate chapters for characters that, at that moment, seem insignificant but they end up helping the main characters. There were a lot of new characters introduced in the 2nd paperclip such as Emby, Roland, Cyrus, and Tyler. I thought that Cy-Ty or whoever he was was interesting because Cyrus had to get an operation where part of Tyler's brain was put into the missing part of Cyrus' brain, after a while Tyler had started taking over Cyrus and it got out of control.
         In class we talked about when Connor punches Lev and we were discussing on whether Lev deserved it or not and I believe Lev did deserve it. Lev is always sabotaging and ruining things. For example, when Conner, Risa, Lev, and the baby are hiding in the high school bathrooms and Lev escaped and turned them in, he ruined their runaway but they got away. Also we discussed if you unwound someone would they be able to function and live because of part of Tyler's brain taking over Cyrus. I don't think this would work because its basically reanimating someone and we need NO zombies/reanimated people. Cyrus was talking to Lev and telling him that its in his nature to run from unwinding. It may or may not have gotten to Lev and convinced him to keep running from unwinding. No one really deserves to be unwound but when Lev thinks of it as a privilege then it just seems wrong. I think it may have gotten to Lev that he doesn't HAVE to die or be sacrificed to god. Lev's grades in school are good and he plays multiple sports so its not like he won't amount to anything in life.

Oakland

        I hear that there is some debate on whether or not Oakland is safe or not. Living in the hood for my whole life, I would say Oakland is fine. A lot of people call it a "kill-zone" and say its dangerous. From the parts I've lived in and from my experience its not really dangerous unless you're unlucky and shot as an innocent bystander or you're into some stuff. Most people in Oakland aren't even into stuff. Oakland has actually been very safe for me and lots of other people. There are parts that are very nice like Montclair and the Oakland Hills are all safe as can be.
        As for the gangs, there are gangs and gang affiliation in Oakland but the difference is its just as much as any other city. Oakland is targeted because of stories that people have heard on the news of people getting shot or stabbed or something. Just as much crime happens elsewhere but Oakland has been targeted. A lot of big stuff happens in Oakland, such as Oscar Grant and Police getting shot, they only talk about the really bad things that happen. When you ask people they would say that Oakland is unsafe and there's violence everywhere. This is a common stereotype. If you ask people in Oakland they would say Oakland is perfectly fine and safe.

Response to Ebone's Post About Religion

 I was looking for something to respond to when I came across Ebone and her never ending debate about religion and this quote:

 "I believe it was about a month ago when a rude and pathetic and freshman friend of mine (who I will call X) said to me, "Yeah sure. You believe in something that is really not up there!'"

"Now this is very offensive and I remember when I was in that same position just a few months ago, fighting for what I believed in."

         This is a quote within a quote and I agree with Ebone. I take this into offense and I'm not even religious, sure, I was baptized but I never  had my first communion and I believe in three main things: Karma, Fate, and God. I like to believe in an afterlife but I'm not entirely sure. I think that "X" shouldn't say that "You believe in something that is really not up there!" because thats highly offensive to them and others. Sure we don't know whats "up there" or not but thats the point, WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE! There could or couldn't be someone "up there" we won't know until we find out which no one know's when we will.
       When Ebone said "fighting for what I believe in" that brings me to the point of, does it matter? Why does "X" really care what she believes in? Its her beliefs and she can believe what she wants to. If anyone could try and argue and say "Oh well what you believe isn't true! Its a lie!". Well then I would say "So, does it matter?" It doesn't matter if "X" doesn't believe in what Ebone believes in, "X" is NOT Ebone so "X" should mind their own business and pay attention to their beliefs and not Ebone's, whatever they may be. I don't know what Ebone believes in, it doesn't matter to me, she's still my friend ans she still would be even if she believed in something that wasn't true. I'm not saying that anything is or isn't true, I'm simply stating that it doesn't matter, Ebone is still Ebone.

Repsonse to Unwind

          So far, Unwind is great ! You never know whats going to happen and you don't expect what happens, its unpredictable and I love that about the book. One thing that struck me is the way Connor's parents just try to shake off the guilt of having their son ordered to be unwound. They have some nerve. I don't think any parent could live with the guilt but the fact that the trip to the Bahama's the day after Connor's supposed to be unwound is slightly irritating. They're going to harvest their kid for organs while they're sipping on a tall iced tea by the beach. Those are some good parents...not. Also the nerve of his girlfriend Ariana. How could someone just say "O I'm going to run away with you, school is going bad and I would totally run away!" and then when it comes time for her to run away suddenly it changes to "Oh now isn't not a good time, call me when your somewhere safe and I'll come for you." I think that's kinda messed up, her boyfriends going to die and she just says "Oh, I can't" that's messed up.
        Also Lev is crazy! He WANTS to get unwound because it's his "purpose in life" and part of his religion. If anything he should be like a normal teenager and just try everything in his power not to get unwound, but his thoughts are quite the opposite. He is all for the idea of dying. I understand the fact that he's brainwashed, which isn't very good, but come on  why would you want to die? If my parents had me ordered to be unwound I'd do exactly how Connor did and run away. Connor came across a trucker that had a new hand. The trucker said that he thinks everyday what the child could have amounted to and accomplished. I think its sad when you kill an innocent child just for organs you could get off someone who's life wasn't cut short by other humans.

Kite Runner

     "The Kite Runner" is about a boy, Amir, and his journey throughout his life and his experiences. Amir had one friend, Hassan, who was also his servant. Hassan and Amir were always getting harrased by Assef. Assef would harass them because Hassan was a different race, and Amir was his friend. The Russian invasion of Afghanistan forced Amir and his father to flee to America. Amir lived his life in America and went back to Afghanistan to save Hassan’s son from Assef, and bring him back to America.

          I believe the audience that this book is intended for is teens and adults. There are some explicit parts, for example when Hassan gets raped (p75) and when the soldier is talking mess about his mother (p7). This book also explains and gives some insight to the Afghanistan history, for example the Russian invasion and the Taliban, but not as much of the Taliban as the Russian invasion.

         Khaled Hosseini’s style of writing, to me, seems very descriptive and straight foward and he doesn’t hold anything back. For example, when he writes: “He brushed his lips against Sohrab’s ear, kept his eye on me.” (p281) That is very disturbing to me because its an older man treating a young boy like his lover and some books would say something more sublte, such as “he showed affection towards Sohrab as if he was his lover” or something along the lines of that. Hosseini didn’t hold back and described exactly what was going on with detail. He describes things with detail throughout the book. His writing also seems more like he’s creating a picture in the readers head, When I read I could picture everything that was going on because of the amount of detail.

         Amir is a very interesting character throughout this book. I believe he has some emotional issues because of what he experienced as a child. For example he experienced violence, betrayal, war, and lots of other things. He also has issues with his father growing up because from his perspective in his fathers eyes he was weak and unaccepted.

“ ‘He needs someone who. . .understands him, because god knows I don’t. But something about Amir troubles me in a way that I can’t express. It’s like. . .” I could see him searching, reaching for the right words. He lowered his voice, but I heard him anyway. “If I hadn’t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I’d never believe he’s my son.’ ” (p23) In this quote Amir’s father, Baba, is telling his friend Rahim Khan about how he feels about Amir. Amir was listening to this conversation and it scared him for, basically his life. After he heard that he tried everything in his power to gain his father’s acceptance. even in his adult life his father didn’t accept his career path of wanting to be a writer, his father wanted him to be a doctor and thought making up stories was stupid.

         Because of his emotional trauma as a child as an adult he wasn’t a very confident person. “This isn’t you, Amir, part of me said. You’re gutless. It’s how you were made. And that’s not such a bad thing because your saving grace is that you’ve never lied to yourself about it. Not about that. Nothing wrong with cowardice as long as it comes with prudence. But when a coward stops remembering who he is. . .God help him.” (p275) Amir thinks little of himself because of what he’s been told throughout his life. Amir says he went to Afghanistan because of Sohrab but I believe it was because of three other reasons. One, because he’s trying to prove to himself that he isn’t a coward and that he’s brave enough to do whatever it takes to get Sohrab to safety, even if that means standing up to his phsycopathic, crazy, childhood nightmare. Two, because he wants to make amends to Hassan because he felt it was his fault for Hassan leaving, and now that he has a chance to prove to himself that his guilty feelings can go away. Three, because he went to face his childhood and all the traumatic experiences there.

        Before he went to go get Sohrab he stopped by his old house and the hill where Hassan and him would sit and read. He didn’t expect to see Assef but he didn’t cower in fear when he knew it was him. In a way Amir was slightly showing himself that he was somewhat a coward because when Assef was fighting he didn’t really fight back and he had to get saved by Sohrab, a little boy, and his slingshot. It reminded me of when Amir was younger and Assef was tormenting him and Hassan, they were about to get beaten but Hassan saved them both with his slingshot, so in a way Amir hasn’t changed since childhood.

     Amir and Hassan had a weird relationship throughout the book. Amir was always questioning whether or not Hassan should be treated as a servant or his friend because Assef would get in his head and tell him that he’s a servant, not his friend. In the begining Amir and Hassan had a good friendship, but as the book progressed, Amir became confused and jealous because Baba treated Hassan better than he treated Amir. Hassan got raped by Assef and Amir was angry and later tried to make him fight back and get defensive by throwing pomegranites at him. After that their friendship went downhill. Amir framed Hassan for stealing his new watch and Hassan got in trouble but was forgiven. After that Hassan and his father left and was never heard from again.

     “Then Baba rolled his head towards me. “I wish Hassan had been with us today,” he said. A pair of steel hands closed around my windpipe at the sound of Hassan’s name. I rolled down the window. Waited for the steel hands to loosen their grip.” (p133-134) In this quote Amir feels guilty of what happened throughout this childhood with Amir. Going to Afghanistan lightened his guilt of what happened.