Homework#6 Wed-Thurs 2

 "A part of me was hoping someone would wake up and hear, so I wouldn't have to live with this lie anymore." (86 Hosseini) The  author has developed the overall theme of “Does everything Really have a price?” The main character Amir hears it first from the worst kid in town Assef, and later from the drugged Russian soldier as Amir and his father are being smuggled out of Kabul. The character comes to a cross roads several times in the book so far once where he decides whether to help his best friend or stand and watch.

 The author sets the stage for this conflict because of the fight that the main character Amir,  and his friend Hassan almost got into with Assef whom they would later find out is much more corrupt than they thought, when going to their favorite spot to hang out.  Amir makes the decision to stand and watch and is haunted by it forever. This creates a feeling of guilt in him and although he wants to tell his father what happened and that he stood by and watched his best friend be rapped while his friend defended him over a kite he wants to please his father and knows that his father would condemn him.(Hosseini 74-76) Amir begins to wonder  if this is the price that Hassan has paid for being his friend. For being shunned and picked on and defiled.

Amir also questions himself after the incident and his motives for trying to impress his father and at what price does that come? Amir’s father doesn’t think he is a real man and should be studying something else besides writing and should have honor, and courage, and like sports, however Amir prefers to write and read instead of rough house with the other boys. He questions that in his quest to impress his father at the kite competition he is more worried about the kite than his friend who could have been killed by Assef. Ultimately he makes the decision to impress his father than save his friend.

When Amir and his father were being smuggled out of the country a drugged Russian soldier wanted to defile a married woman so Amir’s father stood up to him and Amir really thought it was his death until he heard a shot and no cry. However he started to question again the fact that everything has a price. That their freedom would cost his father’s life and probably that of the young wife’s as well had the commanding officer not stepped in.

Overall Amir has begun to question everything since the incident with Hassan, and not doing something will be something he will never forgive himself for. I think that the the theme “Does everything really have a price?” Will continue to develop into a more complex theme throughout the book.

1. Why didn't Amir tell Rahim Khan what he had seen of he trusted him so much more than his own father?

2. Why does Ali not tell Amir's father?

3. Why do you think the author keeps reiterating that "everything has a price" besides the overall theme?

Homework#6 Monday

In the Book The Kite Runner the character Amir is at first shy yet cherry but after the winter of 1975 when he failed to help save his friend form the unspeakable he became bitter, depressed and disdainful because of the fact that he did nothing and it still haunts him to the point he frames his best friend.(Hosseini 76-77) His best friend was Hassan who was humble and loyal even through the event of  '75 however he became depressed as well because he finally knew that Amir had watched and yet he made one final sacrifice by taking the blame for Amir's lie that he had stole from them because Hassan knew Amir's father would never forgive him. (Hosseini 80-81)Amir's father is confident, fanciful, and prideful, the exact opposite of Amir in some ways.(Hosseini 14)

Homework#6 Tuesday Mountains as symbols

In the Hobbit and throughout the Lord of the Rings the Misty Mountains can symbolize several things. However the most prominent meaning of the mountains was that it all started with a Dark Lord and essentially a Mountain. Before the Hobbit Sauron got jealous and  made his own ring of power to rule the others in Mt.Doom then he goes to conquer. Isildur defeats him and takes the ring but it corrupts him so he keeps it until he is killed by a raid. He drops it in the river and Golum's friend finds it.  It corrupts Golum and he goes to the misty mountains where it is later picked up by a young Bilbo who fell ( literally off a cliff) in the goblin caves (in a certain part of the misty Mts.) when he is on a quest to help the dwarves get rid of a greedy dragon out of their home (which is a Mountain). After all of this he came back home until he decided he was leaving to live with the elves and Frodo found it who now the Dark Lord is after because Gollum told them where to find him.  So he had to go on a journey to destory it back at Mt. Doom again. So ultimately the mountain is a symbol for  the Beginning and the end of both the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit.

Another book is "Cold Mountain" the mountain is a symbol of both love and survival. The main characters  Ada and Inman are in love and she promises to wait for him on her fathers farm that is going down hill fast because of his death while Inman deserts the confederate army after an "slight" injury to come back to her. Ada has no idea how to do anything because she was spoiled and has nothing put up for winter so she has to try survive through a harsh Appalachian winter with Ruby who learned to survive on her own because her father would leave for months at a time. Inman has to make it back to Cold Montain and survive the winter without being caught by bounty hunters who catch deserters.

In Rambo the Mountains symbolized the advantage that Rambo had against the police officers who were trying to catch him even though he didn't do anything wrong. Although there were many of them and lots of weapons and only one of him he had more experience and training plus the higher ground of the mountain.

Book Review "Poisonwood Bible"

I think that Poisonwood Bible is an 8.5 because it had and excellent way of jumping around from the characters perspectives that was clear and easy to understand, and because of the history and political issues intertwined in the novel. I also liked how most of the characters were varying greatly in age or maturity which made the story alot more interesting to see their perspectives of both their father and the world around them. The Story told from all of the varying characters views are like how the author was using all of the Biblical allusions  and she even wrote in one giant one because the Bible had several different authors all telling the same story. I liked the history perspective because it made the novel more realistic and almost historical with the family right in the middle of the congo gaining independence and the  US almost in a war that didn't seem to matter where they were. The thing that stood out to me the most was the Biblical allusions the book was just one big Bilblical allusion frrom the characters perspective to their owm allusions

Homework#5 Thursday

Yes and no I do think she has some Christ like features although not really enough to  be a Christ like figure in this book. In The Poisionwood Bible the Kilangan people for a time are considered by the Price family to be the bad guys or unholy and below them and Ruth May is the first to make contact by teaching the children how to play "Mother May I?" She is also the most innocent and forgiving and is very literal about things. However she lost the battle with the snake bite and the serpernt is often known as the tempter this would have made more sense as a Christ figure if she would have made a miraculous recovery and died of something else. (Kingsolver 166) However when she died her mother covered her with a shroud made out of mosquito nets. So overall I think there is enough evidence to support either side that she both is and isnt a Christ like figure.

Homework#5 Wednesday

Although this book does seem widely political I think it is not completly about the politics because it gets to a point where the family is just trying to survive because Orleanna made the comment that president Eisenhower and what was going on at home didnt seem to effect the congo or really matter.   Politics was just a minor thing that didn't seem to affect them until later when Anatole is protesting and getting put in jail. I do however think that it is raising somewhat of political and religious towards the family because of their father who is very strict and abusive. It may have raised an issue of the authors childhood because  strict southern Baptist Preachers are still around today and were very prominent in the 60's to 80's

Homework#5 Tuesday

An example of the first type of literary violence is when Tata Kuvundu the witch doctor put a green mamba snake in the chicken house, and although it was probably intended for Nelson it was put there with malicious intent. His plan worked although it killed the families youngest Ruth-May which was the final straw for the family and this made them pack up and leave all except for Nathan the delusional father. An example of the second type would be the plague of the ants which both divides the family further and sets the stage for the controversy with the  tribe over the lack of food.The ants divide the family further because they are already starting to rebel and question each other especially the sisters and when Orleanna leaves Adah and takes Ruth-May this puts more of a stressor on  the family. The ants also eat everything in their path which causes a great lack of food in an already sparse land.

Homework#5 Monday

One of the first weather events that I think of oddly enough is fog because almost every knows who Rudolph the read nose Reindeer is. Fog plays a key role in making Rudolph the star of the show if it hadn't been a foggy night Santa wouldn't have recognized Rudolph's potential to use his nose.

Another movie that fog plays a key role is twilight it both sets the scene for an ominous event and keeps the vampires from being noticed because of their glittering skin.

It also sets the scene for battle of one side or the others impending doom. As noted in Pirates of the Caribbean, Horror movies and pretty much any movie with a battle scene not in the desert.

(Note The Ominous Fog)

Homework#4 Wednesday

 Cinderella is an allusion to the movie "The Princess Diaries" . In the Movie Mia (Cinderella)  is just a regular girl in high school who is bullied by two main cheerleaders (the evil stepsisters) whose father (the wealthy statesman who died) dies. This prompts a visit from her long lost grandmother (the Fairy Godmother ) who tells her she is a princess. She attends princess lessons and is protected and advised by Joe(the Grand Duke) the head of security until she will decide if she will be the Official Princess of Jenovia. (The Grand Ball) In the mean time she falls in love and asks Michael brother of her best friend Lily (Prince Charming) to the ball. Tension soon grows and she is not going to go to the ball. So the night of the ball arrives and Joe(Grand Duke) is sent to find her. This is like trying to find the girl the glass slipper fits on in the kingdom. So Joe finds her and the rest is history.

Poisonwood Bible Response

I feel that fathers should not always be the head of the house hold because some fathers are abusive ,however, for the most part most fathers are loving and good . In Poisonwood Bible Nathan is abusive possibly due to his war injury. He is very controlling and thinks he knows everything almost in a delusional sense. Orleanna and the children are afraid to leave him but when Ruth May dies that is the last straw. When she dies he is in shock like the children and although Orleanna is too she has a little more composure and is able to do a small funeral and and then leave Nathan. Although Nathan is not a good father for head of the house hold there are several unexpected characters in the book that would be considered good heads of the house hold. Tata Ndu the leader of the tribe where the family is staying is an exmple. Although he seems to be making trouble he is just doing what he thinks is best for his people. He also provides food and protection to not only his family but the whole village.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think Orleanna didn't just pack up and leave right after the funeral for Ruth May?

2.Baptism  of Ruth May?

3.Do you think Orleanna hoped Ruth May would come back to life ro is in denile (I.E. the shroud)?

Homework#4 Tuesday

You could argue that the whole entire Lord of the Rings series was one giant allusion to the Bible. However one event stands out the most in the entire series that is the most shocking and obvious. The allusion is Jesus' Birth death and Resurrection. Jesus died on the cross and came back to defeat evil by forgiving sins. This is not unlike in Lord of the Rings where Gandalf the Grey a wizard and a key player in the story is killed. But he says "I have been sent back at the turn of the tide" he was resurrected(comes back as Gandalf the White) and  helps win the wars to come against the Dark Lord Sauron.

     To

Gandalf the Grey                                     Gandalf The White

Homework#4 Monday

I have heard of most of these before it was not on a movie but a TV show. On the show "Criminal Minds" it starts with a famous quote etc. and/or ends with it. This particular line "To thine own self be true" was a theme in one of the shows. Usually the poem or the quote gives a hint to what is going to happen and is used as symbolism to the main plot of the story. Sometimes the show will give the same quote at the beginning at the end, and by the end of the story it either has a new meaning or you understand what the quote means.

Homework#3 Thursday even more irony

An example of situational irony is in the movie How to Train Your Dragon. In the movie Hiccup is trying to be like the other vikings when in fact he is braver than all of them.


Another example of situational irony is the main plot of the movie "Trading Places". This movie is about two rich men who run a company that play in the stock market. Their new young executive is carrying a larger amount of money to a meeting where he is accidentally knocked down by a homeless man Mr. Valentine (Eddie Murphy) and the executive, Winthorp(Dan Akroyd) thinks he is being robbed and calls the police while Valentine tries to give his brief case back to him. So skipping ahead the Rich guys or the Dukes make a bet  for one dollar that they can make Valentine their executive and make Winthorp homeless. The plan works but Valentine figures out what is going on and that the Dukes had an dirty man (Binks) to get the Crop report so that they would know how play the stocks and make tons of money. On New Years eve Valentine and Winthorp intercepted Binks and gave the Dukes a wrong crop report so their scheme came back on them.

 Frozen is an example of situational irony because you expect Kristoff to save Anna when in fact she saves herself because of her love for her sister that she would die for her.

Homework #3 Wednesday..;Oh the Irony

"Time to go" from Pirates of the Caribbean is an example of verbal irony in that it is a understatement made by Will Turner when Gibbs asks him where Jack is and suddenly he runs out of the jungle towards them while in a few seconds a group of hungry cannibals comes running after him. The crew have to make it on the ship and set sail before they get eaten Jack or no Jack.(this is one of my favorite scenes so I added a video of this scene for your entertainment)

In Bourne Identity  the quote "sooo.. we got a bump coming up" is an example of dramatic irony again because it is an understatement. Jason Bourne and the woman he originally payed to drive him to Paris Maurie is in Pairs being chased by the police because they are wanted fugitives, Bourne being the product of a failed government experiment. They are in a car chase and are riding in Maurie's old Mini cooper which can fit into small spaces all in all the chase ends up from the streets to the side walks where the eventually come to a huge flight of stairs when Borune says this. 

In Robin Hood Prince of Thieves Robin hood played by Kevin Costner and the Mery men have planned a raid on the soldiers of Nottingham that are traveling through Sherwood Forest. It is a large group of soldiers because they are carrying alot of money and one of the men asks Robin how  many there are there are more than 20 but Robin says there are only 5 so as not to worry the men and  because most of them can't count anyway.

[talking about how many men that are about to be ambushed]

Robin Hood: How many?

Azeem: 20.

Robin Hood: 20?

Bull: [further away] How many?

Robin Hood: 5.

Robin Hood: [to Azeem] He can't count anyway.

Sonnet Response "Ozymandias"

The author, Percy B. Shelly uses dramatic irony in this sonnet because she describes the base of what was a great statue on the middle of the desert with an inscription written by a king to look at all he had accomplished when there was nothing there but the remnants. She uses imagery to describe the secenery of the desert, the vastness and then the remnants of the statue. This could also be a refernce  to some parts in the Bible because Jesus says that it is easier for a camel to walk though a needle than  those who are great and wealthy the go into the kindom of heaven and that those who are last will be first and those who are first last in the knigdom of heaven. The poem is Petrarchan and shifts at the 8th line and starts with a the quote that is the irony of the whole poem.

Homework #3 Tuesday Irony

In the Incredibles it is dramatic irony when   Edna refuses to add a cape to the Incredible' suit although we normally picture them with capes because she says they result in deaths. At the end Syndrome(bad guy) has a cape and is sucked in an airplane turbine because his cape  got stuck in it.

Another Pixar movie that has dramatic Irony is finding Nemo when Marlin calls the seahorse Ponyboy and he says that for a clown fish Marin is not that funny.This is ironic because of the name and because someone even thought to name this fish the way they did. This fish the clown fish is of course real and is in a sub category a damsel fish. This is ironic because these fish are naturally territorial although they often hide in their anemone they can be aggressive. (also note a Nemo flaw the females are huge compared to the males they reversed the size but maybe not in the sense of Nemo's mom's personality which is outgoing and his fathers which is more cautious even before  Coral's demise.

In Lord of the Rings Gandalf the Grey(note this is significant) was thought dead after he fell off the bridge of  Khazzad Dune after fighting the Balrog which caught hold of his leg with his fiery whip and took Gandalf with him.But we know that he wasn't dead because he continued to pursue the creature from "the lowest Dungeon to the highest peak" and on the highest peak of Durin's Tower he fought the creature and died(later) but (spoiler alert) he came back to life as Gandalf the White(see I told you) and was in Fangorn forest where Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were looking for Marry and Pippin after they had been taken by Uruh-hai after trying to distract them so Frodo could get away. The Uruk-hai were later killed by the riders of Rohan and in the midst of the battle Marry and Pippin had escaped into the forest and were picked up by Treebeard an Ent who took them to Gandalf who left them with tree beard to keep them  out of trouble.And that brings us back to Gandalf who they all though was Saurman(good guy turned bad because both Gandalf (now) and Saurman is known as "The White Wizard" which just made things complicated for everyone except us.(Can't you tell I have really watched this way too many times?)

Homework #3 Monday

In the Poisonwood Bible the use of Bible references has been used to describe the families whole life. The girls were raised in church so to speak so they were well versed and from the book of Genesis and so on their life has correlated to the Bible. Indirectly throughout the whole book was like The Plagues of Exodus or Revelations. An example of this would be the plague of ants,the war going on, the slavery at the rubber plantations Leah talks about later, and the famine when Leah volunteers to go hunting with the men to keep the family alive.