This blog is about :
Close reading of a few chapters of "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Ned Vizzini suffered from depression. He wrote books about it, talked about, sought help about it, but depression is a disease, not unlike cancer, or malaria. It can't be cured, only treated, and controlled. "It's Kind of a Funny Story" is a book based off of Vizzini's five days in Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he started his story.
The protagonist of "It's Kind of a Funny Story" is Craig. Craig is a 15 year old high school student, that just wants to succeed in life. He has a good family, a great education, but a troubled mind. I noticed that Craig thinks he will never make it in life. He gets 93's in school, and thinks because of it, he is average, and will get nowhere. I think his brain is wired to think that every tiny mistake he makes will end up in his life failing. I am now going to separate how I think Ned Vizzini's brain works from Craig's, so that I don't get confused.
Many people have power in "It's Kind of a Funny Story." Firstly, Craig has power to check himself into the hospital when he is feeling suicidal. He has the power to save his own life, to make himself happier, and to save everyone he knows pain. His "best" friend Aaron has a lot of power as well. I think that Aaron is a symbol for what Craig thinks of himself. Craig is always worried about what others think about him, including his best friend. I think that his best friend is all of his worries wrapped up into one, because Craig thinks Aaron will succeed at life, while he will fail. Aaron has a girlfriend, Craig does not. Aaron didn't study to get into their top school, Craig studied for the whole summer. Aaron is happy and relaxed, while Craig is uptight and depressed. And it goes on and on and on.
There was one particular word that stood out to me in "It's Kind of a Funny Story," and that word was "shift." I think shift perfectly sums up and describes Craig's condition. Shift means to move, but not by much. To just move over a bit one way or the other. Craig is shifting as well. He isn't recovering from depression, because that is impossible, he is simply shifting in the right direction, to become happier.
The book is bittersweet, we know that he doesn't jump off the bridge, but we also know he isn't completely healed, and he won't ever be. We know he is happy now but we also know that he will have to take pill the rest of his life to keep him feeling that way. In conclusion, there are many more things in "It's Kind of a Funny Story" that I did not cover, as I couldn't closely read the whole book. However the parts I did read were extremely inspiring and powerful in every way.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
The Stolen Party
The Stolen Party by Liliana Heker is a story about a young girl learning a lesson the hard way. In The Stolen Party, the protagonist Rosaura is determined to attend her friend Luciana's birthday party. However her mother disagrees with Rosaura, saying that it is a party for the risk. This comes from her skeptic of the rich, as she works as a maid for Luciana's family. However she lets her go, and lets her learn a lesson as well.
I focused on part two of The Stolen Party. I saw that multiple people had power, power to change the situation they were in at the current time or for the future. At the beginning of part two, Rosaura's mother has the power to stop Rosaura from attending the party. She also has the power to make Rosaura beautiful for a party she doesn't even want her daughter attending. However she exercises her power in a certain way, and she lets Rosaura attend the party, and starches her dress, and makes her hair shiny, which shows that Rosaura's mother cares about her daughter.
Taking one step forward, Rosaura has the power to show the people at the party that she is confident of herself, by taking a "firm step" and showing off with "a slight toss" of her shiny skirt.
That is one example of word choice in section two, but elaborating on that would take me completely off topic, and I don't like to ramble.
In the last paragraph of part two of The Stolen Party, the author states that Luciana puts on a "secretive look" to tell Rosaura about the monkey in the kitchen. This shows that Luciana has the power to determine the friendship between her and Rosaura, she completely in control, and Rosaura doesn't even know it. She is friends with Luciana, but it may be only based on the secrets they share with each other. I think that Rosaura may have a small piece of control over the friendship, but Luciana may not be able to see it. Rosaura has her confidence, which makes her powerful and strong.
Finally, word choice. In The Stolen Party, the first word that stood out to me was "admired". Rosaura admiring herself in the mirror shows that she likes, or even loves ho she is, that even though her mother may be ashamed for Rosaura, Rosaura doesn't see that. That, or maybe it shows how naive she is. It could also mean she admires her own self confidence. The phrase "Terribly Pretty" could symbolize her mother's feelings, that Rosaura's beauty was being wasted on a party where it would not be appreciated. She is beautiful, but it is a terrible beauty, and is not being used for a good reason, a waste.
The Stolen Party is also about a class system. Rosaura is the maid's daughter, and her mother's employers, her "friend" are one or more classes above. A person in the real world can see this everywhere. Just look at the news once in a while and you will her talk about the 99% and the 1%. I watched Mandela recently, and the class system there was all too clear, obvious is a large understatement. In conclusion, The Stolen Party has many connections to the real world, current and past issues, some everyone can relate to.
I focused on part two of The Stolen Party. I saw that multiple people had power, power to change the situation they were in at the current time or for the future. At the beginning of part two, Rosaura's mother has the power to stop Rosaura from attending the party. She also has the power to make Rosaura beautiful for a party she doesn't even want her daughter attending. However she exercises her power in a certain way, and she lets Rosaura attend the party, and starches her dress, and makes her hair shiny, which shows that Rosaura's mother cares about her daughter.
Taking one step forward, Rosaura has the power to show the people at the party that she is confident of herself, by taking a "firm step" and showing off with "a slight toss" of her shiny skirt.
That is one example of word choice in section two, but elaborating on that would take me completely off topic, and I don't like to ramble.
In the last paragraph of part two of The Stolen Party, the author states that Luciana puts on a "secretive look" to tell Rosaura about the monkey in the kitchen. This shows that Luciana has the power to determine the friendship between her and Rosaura, she completely in control, and Rosaura doesn't even know it. She is friends with Luciana, but it may be only based on the secrets they share with each other. I think that Rosaura may have a small piece of control over the friendship, but Luciana may not be able to see it. Rosaura has her confidence, which makes her powerful and strong.
Finally, word choice. In The Stolen Party, the first word that stood out to me was "admired". Rosaura admiring herself in the mirror shows that she likes, or even loves ho she is, that even though her mother may be ashamed for Rosaura, Rosaura doesn't see that. That, or maybe it shows how naive she is. It could also mean she admires her own self confidence. The phrase "Terribly Pretty" could symbolize her mother's feelings, that Rosaura's beauty was being wasted on a party where it would not be appreciated. She is beautiful, but it is a terrible beauty, and is not being used for a good reason, a waste.
The Stolen Party is also about a class system. Rosaura is the maid's daughter, and her mother's employers, her "friend" are one or more classes above. A person in the real world can see this everywhere. Just look at the news once in a while and you will her talk about the 99% and the 1%. I watched Mandela recently, and the class system there was all too clear, obvious is a large understatement. In conclusion, The Stolen Party has many connections to the real world, current and past issues, some everyone can relate to.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
The Book Theif: Best Book of 2013
The best book I read in 2013 was the book theif. I am guilty, I did see the movie first, and after reading the book I regret it, because it's easier to have read the book and critique the movie than it is to read the book and question if it happened in the movie. The Book Theif is about a young girl living in Nazi Germany. Leisel, the girl, is abandoned by her mother, a communist, attempting to get away from the Nazis. She is left with her foster parents, Rosa, a woman with a harsh temper, but a kind heart, and a lazy but loving man named Hans. There she becomes, well, a book theif.
While it may not be apparent to some at first , Death, is the narrator. In the movie, you hear death speak every 20-25 minutes or so, but in the book it is quite more frequent. You see death takes a peticular interest in Leisel, and maybe too close of an interest, as Death got too close, and her brother ended up dead. Death gives you insight, in the book to what will happen next, and in the beginning leads you on to give you a peaceful view of Nazi Germany, where everyone is fine. As the book goes on, Death decides to show the reader the other side of Germany with a cold Jew hiding in a train waiting for the possibility of safety.
In the beginning of the book, Leisel appears as a dumb child who can't read to the children around her, but the reader can see the courage in the young girl from the beginning starting from when she beats up a boy at school, to when she steals her second book from a Nazi book burning. She soon learns to bead with her Papa, who left school in fourth grade, and they buy, and steal books together to read. Books were precious then, and hidden, as Nazis liked to burn books by authors they didn't find acceptable. She keeps a wall of words in her basement, to study, to read and to learn, however she doesn't know that her reading, and her willingness to learn keeps her alive in the end.
The Book Theif is about a young girl with the courage to disobey the rules, the cruel rules that were set into place by awful people. It is narrated by Death, who was fascinated with Leisel, and let her live her full 93 years. It was a brilliant book and I recommend it to all.
While it may not be apparent to some at first , Death, is the narrator. In the movie, you hear death speak every 20-25 minutes or so, but in the book it is quite more frequent. You see death takes a peticular interest in Leisel, and maybe too close of an interest, as Death got too close, and her brother ended up dead. Death gives you insight, in the book to what will happen next, and in the beginning leads you on to give you a peaceful view of Nazi Germany, where everyone is fine. As the book goes on, Death decides to show the reader the other side of Germany with a cold Jew hiding in a train waiting for the possibility of safety.
In the beginning of the book, Leisel appears as a dumb child who can't read to the children around her, but the reader can see the courage in the young girl from the beginning starting from when she beats up a boy at school, to when she steals her second book from a Nazi book burning. She soon learns to bead with her Papa, who left school in fourth grade, and they buy, and steal books together to read. Books were precious then, and hidden, as Nazis liked to burn books by authors they didn't find acceptable. She keeps a wall of words in her basement, to study, to read and to learn, however she doesn't know that her reading, and her willingness to learn keeps her alive in the end.
The Book Theif is about a young girl with the courage to disobey the rules, the cruel rules that were set into place by awful people. It is narrated by Death, who was fascinated with Leisel, and let her live her full 93 years. It was a brilliant book and I recommend it to all.
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