Columnist Blog Post

I chose to analyze the column "Something to Remember for Thanksgiving" by Mary Schmich.

1. How does the author want the reader to feel while reading the column?

I think that Schmich wants the readers to feel nostalgic. The author is talking about a happy moment that happened during her childhood. "The day was sticky hot, and somewhere outside came the bell of the ice cream man." Most people will be able to relate to a similar moment that happened to them in their childhood and she is trying to make them yearn to have that one moment and their childhood happen again.

2. What does the author want the reader to realize?

I think the author wants the reader to realize that how much money you have and can afford to spend is all based on your financial situation. What one person might think is poor another person might think is rich. Schmich also wants the reader to realize that the smallest things in life can make the biggest difference and it isn't all about money. A small action to a stranger might make all the difference in that persons day. She is trying to encourage the audience to do these small acts of kindness.

3. What is the purpose of the column?

The purpose of this column is to show the reader that each person will see a different value in different things based on their state of mind and that even the smallest gestures can make the biggest difference in someones life. This column is trying to encourage people to make those small gestures and be the difference in someones life.

4. How does the author use diction and syntax to convey the message?

The author uses simple and informal diction to so she can easily relate to the reader. She doesn't try to use over complicated diction to make the column sound elegant, she tries to make it start sound and feel natural to the reader. The way she tells the story makes it very easy for the reader to relate to.

5. What is the value of the column?

The value of this column is that it makes people look at the struggles that others less fortunate than the reader have to go through. It also makes people that are more fortunate grateful for what they have. It also shows the reader how they can be the change in someones life and how the smallest things can mean everything in the world to someone.

Blog Post #7

Over the past few weeks I have been reading World War Z, an apocalyptic horror book by Max Brooks. I watched the film version back when it came out in 2013(probably should have read the book first...) and thought it was really good, but never really got around to reading the book until now.

The story is told by a series of interviews done by Max Brooks, an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission. The origin of the plague isn't know but a boy from a small Chinese village is identified as Patient Zero. The plague started in China, and even though they tried to contain it, the effort was useless and it continued to spread.

Several nations, mainly ones closer to the devastation, started to initiate nationwide quarantines. The United States it too confident in their ability to handle the threat and tried to stop public panic by marketing a placebo vaccine. Many areas around the world fall into greater chaos, such as Iran and Pakistan who engage in a nuclear war to try and stop the flow of refugees in and out of their countries. A few weeks after, New York City falls gets overrun by the zombies, which didn't really come as a surprise seeing how overconfident the U.S. was. The army was sent in but failed miserably after never being faced with such a relentless opponent.

I only finished about half of the book because of all my test and other schoolwork, but this is one of those book that when you pick it up and start reading it, it's hard to put it down. So far I think that book is great in the sense that you don't know what to expect and that suspense is the reason you want to keep reading.  

Post PARCC Testing Blog

So with PARCC testing week being two weeks ago, and the tests being some of the easiest tests I have ever taken(after OAA's of course). I had tons of time to read after the test, as well as when we were in the Harvard Room. Although I hate the tests and pretty much the week as a whole, I love the amount of time we get to read. I had a solid 7 or 8 hours of reading that week alone and I ended up finishing the book Steve Jobs written by Walter Isaacson.

Job's didn't want the opportunity to get to read the book himself as he thought it would fuel his ego so he told Isaacson to wait until after his death, which was eminent, to publish the book. Steve Job's was in the late stages of battling pancreatic cancer and lost his battle on October 5, 2011. Less than three weeks after his death Walter Isaacson decides it is the perfect time to release the book and does so on the 24th of October. This is a book about Steve and all his endeavors.

This book talks about how Jobs most of his own life building innovative products to make the world we live in easier. He built two technological empires, Pixar and Apple. Throughout the book he talks about how he focuses on certain things and what people should focus on to help them be successful in their lives. His methods, especially pertaining to people, can sometimes be absurd and won't work for most people in the real world, but many aspects of this book can't be overlooked as it teaches us about one of the greatest minds the world has ever seen.

I would give this book a 9.5 out of 10 simply because of the unique perspective it gives us into the business aspect of one of the biggest technological superpowers in the world, but also to one of the most creative minds the world has seen. This book is definitely the best way to learn about Jobs and his creations.

Inheritance Post Part 2

Last weeks blog post was supposed to be the sort of like a plot twist where we were supposed to simply break off from the story and make up our own idea of what should or could have taken place in Fahrenheit 451. I really didn't like that assignment because there are two types of people, creative and pure fact based... I'm that person that is pure fact based and the Dover Beach assignment required a lot of creativity to write and I'm just glad it's over. Now let's get on topic.

I read about half of Inheritance when I wrote part one of the blog post, I finished up the rest of the book in the last month, here's what happens in the second half. Once they leave the Rock of Kuthian they forget about everything on it(which makes it pretty pointless to ever go there). They regroup with the Varden and soon after, attack Urubaen, the city Galbatorix is in.

Eragon, Saphira, and Arya break into the Citadel containing Galbatorix and make their way past a series of traps. Galbatorix subdues them and tells them that he know the true name of the secret language(why does the villain always reveal there secrets), which is referred to as the Word throughout the book. Galbatorix orders Murtagh to fight Eragon, soon after which Galbatorix realizes that Murtagh has broken his oath and send him to the ground, unconcious. After that Eragon sends at Galbatorix which causes him to feel all the pain that he has caused throughout Alagaesia throughout the years. Once the pain and agony is too much for Galbatorix to bear he says to spell that kills him. The spell causes a huge explosion causing the citadel to collapse,

Once the battle is over Nausada is named the High Queen of Human Alagaesia. Arya returns to Du Weldenvarden to help in elections of the new queen after the previous has just died. She also takes the green dragon egg which hatches to her making her the newest dragon rider. Eragon then changes the code of the dragon riders to allow dwarves and urgals to become dragon riders. Ever since Alagaesia has lived in peace, never to be disturbed again(as far as we know).

Now that I am done with the entire Inheritance Cycle, I can say that it was an excellent series and I definitely recommend any of the books to people who like action and fantasy worlds. I thought that this was the third best book in the series, it was still written wonderfully, it's just that the ending was predictable, as the ending to many series' because the villain has to die so the close the book came to a conclusion the more expected everything became. I would still rate this book a 7 out of 10 and strongly recommend it.