It’s 1939 I’m staring from the top of a mountain in a country unknown, at the smooth downhill expanse of its slope. Around me are similar mountains, the peaks of which are concealed by wisps of condensed water. Like my mountain, the rest of the mountain range is covered in snow. I am with my dad, we are both wearing wooden skis, and we are both about to ski down this vast almost vertical slope. When we do, ski downwards in a straight line steadily gaining momentum as we continue our descent. Some way down the slope, the inevitable, happens. We collide with the icy surface and proceed the rest of the way, rolling. When we reach the bottom we are not hurt, instead we are shaken and laughing. Later we casually speak about it food and hot drink in the mountain side rest stop. As I finished my book The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway, this is vision most distinctive in the text as I read today. This scene also happens to remind of a similar experience I shared with my dad skiing in Austria, minus the downhill collision and wooden skis. Even though the book is composed mainly of short stories depicting the lives of different people, Nick is the only recurring character in the book. The first time he appears, he is a kid of my age accompanying his dad to oversee a child birth in a small shanty town possibly in India or maybe South Africa. The fact that Nick is the only kid of my age in the book, if only temporarily, allows me to relate to him a little more on some level making him a likely candidate for friendship. The book has no plot or story line rising action or climax, makes it a little difficult to follow because of its lack of direction. Hemingway’s one defining literary tool is his ability to describe. This book is purely contrived of plain descriptive imagery. Descriptive imagery that is written bluntly and inelegantly but yet portrays awe- inspiring visions of nature and the lively subcultures of the world. This particular candid simplicity contributes in making this book all the more realistic. In the beginning of the book there is a story resulting in the death of a writer on safari in Kenya. If I could jump inside the book I would like to postpone his death.

Reading log 5

As I read my book today, what i pictured more vividly than anything else, was a masterfully crafted figurine of a ferocious dragon with precious gems suited for eyes, shedding its inanimate skin and coming to life. In a sense, the book is like film or a play because of its vast array of characters. Out of all of them, I would have liked to have known Mr. Sunshine, an original Greek who plays at being fate in the novel by writing the stories of the lives of people in the world. I enjoy writing, and because many of the characters in the book are storytellers, I can connect with them on some level. The book is a comic type of fantasy and so isn’t very realistic in regard to the ability of bending ones will for convenience. I cannot say I’ve shared any of the characters experiences, nor can I relate to any of the events that occur in the story. The author uses imagery to enhance the plentiful visions the book contains, and to enhance the imagery, the author utilizes simile and metaphor on more than one occasion. The passage I read today is similar to a sort of thing the same author would write in another one of his books that I’ve read. In the next section I read I think the protagonist will most likely feel despair at the departure of another character in the story. If I could jump into the story right now I would probably hang out in the Tolkien fraternity house and check out the many mysterious wonders the house has to offer.

reading log 3

As I was finishing Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s book “Of Love and Other Demons” I pictured the last scene where a malnourished little girl dreamt she was sitting watching the snowfall as she plucked at a stem of grapes which would grow back every time one was eaten. I cannot connect with any of the characters in the book per say, but I do understand the Marquis’s random love for his daughter that had spontaneously come to being after neglecting the past 12 years of her life. I can connect this somewhat on a smaller scale to when we sometimes might find a long forgotten object lying around that we decide to love once again or for the first time. Other than this, I share no similar experiences with any of the characters. There is much descriptive imagery of all sorts in the story as well as metaphor that for some can be perceived on a symbolic level although to me I see the story as just a very profound romantic tragedy not written in the traditional sense. I say this because the author is commonly known for his style of writing that includes the feature of magic realism. The setting is very real with probably some historical accuracy. This contributes to the plot which is entirely fictional but not impossibly so. I would not mind being friends with the Marquis’s twelve year old daughter who as a child was immersed in the strange and often horrifying African slave culture of the story. I figure with her talents, I too could learn to become invisible. If I could jump into the story, I would enter the moments of the girls’ last dream watching the snowfall and eating the magical grapes. I’d choose that place just to share the peace and clarity of that dream. I think this same scene I can visualize the best just because of its simplicity.

3 prompts english 8

PROMPT # 1: Family is the most important thing in life.

Disagree.

I believe the importance of things in life have different meanings to different people. Depending on interests, opinions, or personality, one could value different things in life such as money,career, etc. Time passes, and things lose their value as a person's interests shift, even family isn't such a perennial concept as it should be, it maybe lifelong, but not unvarying. People do change. This can be a sad truth, but a truth nonetheless. I believe family should be one of the most precious things in life and that everyone should try and maintain a close relationship with their family, but this is not always the case, some people are born into more immoral family back rounds, in which case, that person would have no sufficient reason to hold their "family" as their most cherished life aspect.



PROMPT # 2: Sometimes winning the lottery is a bad thing.

Disagree

I doubt that winning anything can prove to be a bad thing. The lottery is a game of pure luck and nothing more. Anyone that takes their chances has as much of a probability of winning as the next person. Because of this, holding grudges is unlikely. Contradictory to this, for a person to be in possession of large sums of money can be somewhat overwhelming. A person may not have the will-power or mental strength to control their actions regarding money. Also, if the lucky winner does not take responsiblity for his/her actions, results can be detremental to many lives in many aspects. So the effects money can have on people aren't always beneficial, but in the end winning the lottery is a reward like any other.


PROMT # 3: Our lives are ruled by fate.

Disagree

I believe fate is something people look to when they can't make decisions for themeselves. I do not think fate is some other worldly force that predetermines the path of our lives. If lives are predetermined, it's based on the decisions we make. Therefore life is a path that is perpretually changing. Life is preordained in a sense that we all die someday, but the way we choose to go from point A (birth) to point B (death) is up to us. There is a final destination, but fate can't tell someone that they will be broke on the streets living off food coupons until they die. I doubt that if there is a god, he would have constructed life in this way.

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Democracy poem

Democracy
by: Langston Hughes
Read by: Giovanni Presutti


Democracy will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.

I have as much right
As the other fellow has
To stand
On my own two feet
And own the land.

I tire of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I'm dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.

Feedom is a strong seed
Planted
In a great need.

I live here, too.
I want freedom
Just as you.

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