trust/passivity vs passion

The book, “the perks of being a wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, is a coming-of-age tale from the perspective of a freshman named Charlie. In the beginning of the book, Charlie’s best, and only, friend, Michael, commits suicide. This is very emotional for Charlie and he feels guilty about it too. Charlie feels as if he failed Michael as a friend, because he didn’t know how depressed Michael actually was. Charlie wishes that Michael trusted him as much as he trusted Michael; so that he could have helped Michael overcome his problems.  Charlie also had an aunt who he really loved. Her name was Aunt Helen, and she would always get Charlie two presents, and always let him stay up at night to watch SNL. Then, his aunt died too, but in a car accident. Later in the book, Charlie has a dream about Aunt Helen molesting him, and then he has a flashback and realized she actually did. Charlie felt betrayed and lied to for all those years. Charlie knew that his aunt was untrustworthy and not whom he thought she was.

            One of the main themes in “the perks of being a wallflower” is trust. Charlie trusts a lot of people, but then realizes that the two people he loved the most are different from what he expected and not being truthful to him. During the book, Charlie is very lonely and doesn’t trust anyone, except the reader of his letters. Charlie is faced with obstacles with no support for once in his life. Although, once Charlie meets Sam and Patrick, two seniors and siblings, he makes his first friends in high school. Sam and Patrick take Charlie to many parties and events, which force him to grow up and experience things a bit fast. Sam and Patrick soon become the only people Charlie trust to tell them things. While being friends with Sam and Patrick, Charlie’s life eventually straitens out with the help of his friends, and for the first time, Charlie felt like he belonged somewhere.

           

The book, “the perks of being a wallflower” is about passivity vs. passion. Going into high school, Charlie is very passive. He thinks a lot but doesn’t always speak his mind about the things he wants. In the book Sam says, “Sometimes people use thought to not participate in life.” I think this is exactly what Charlie was doing. For example, when he was dating this girl Mary, he didn’t really like her, but he didn’t tell her. She found out when he kissed Sam, the girl he loves. Also, when Patrick, who is gay, started kissing Charlie, Charlie didn’t resist. Not because he is gay, but because Patrick is his friend and he wanted to be nice. Early on in the book Sam told Charlie not to think about her sexually. She said this because she knew Charlie wouldn’t express himself, not because she didn’t like him. Charlie was very passionate about Sam, but didn’t express it that much around her.

At the end of the book, Charlie becomes less passive and more passionate. Being passive around the people you love is bad. It’s lying to them about who you actually are. Charlie learns to participate in life and be passionate when he tells Sam how he actually feels. Charlie was also using his letters to push out some issues and problems he had. A wallflower is a person who has no one to dance with and stands off to the side awkwardly. I feel like Charlie was a wallflower and was just watching from a perspective while he should be the one dancing and trying to face his problems like an adult. I think the main reason Charlie was passive in the beginning of the book was because he didn't trust anyone. Coming-of-age is about dealing with your struggles maturely and without much supervision. Although it is always easier to grow up with a person you trust and love that you can talk to. 

nonfiction iceburg

The article Flipping icebergs, by Stephen Ornes was published April 3, 2012. the title basically sums up what this article is about, icebergs flipping over. When icebergs flip however, it causes huge commotion and can even release as much energy as an atomic bomb. in very cold areas like Greenland or Antarctica, glaciers can flow over the land and into the ocean. Where the edge of the glacier floats on water, it forms an ice shelf, A floating sheet of ice permanently attached to a landmass. An iceberg forms when part of the ice shelf cracks and breaks off. That’s when icebergs are more likely going to flip. An iceberg takes three or four minutes to flip, and after that it can send out large waves called tsunamis. It may even trigger an earthquake!

The main idea that the author is trying to convey is that these flips that the icebergs are doing is mixing up the water. It quotes "If a warm, salty layer of water is initially floating on a cold, freshwater layer, for example, a flipping iceberg can mix those layers and change the overall temperature and chemical makeup of the water." This could be bad for all of the creatures that live in the ocean, because that could really mess up their habitat. Another quote is "The melting rates of glaciers may depend on the temperature of the water, so scientists are interested in figuring out how flipping icebergs might change those rates." This can't be good if the flipping icebergs make the water temperature rise because that means the water level rises even quicker (because of global warming). Eventually we could be flooded by water.

The author is talking about a very serious and important topic. Earthquakes are the least of our problems when we know that we, or future generations, could be underwater if we don't do anything about it. I think we should alert people about what is going on, although, I don't think there is any way of stopping it. Either way, I'm glad I read the article.

nonfiction evolution

The article Becoming human, was written by Stephen Ornes and published April 4, 2012. This article revolves around evolution, and it starts in Africa, where the oldest bones have been discovered. During the ice ages, the extremely cold weather drove the ancient species in Africa to warmer climates. Because of that, those species were isolated from other populations. Darren Curnoe, who studied the bones from China, thinks that a new species might have formed.

The main idea that the author is trying to convey is that dramatic changes in the climate can drive human migration. It quotes "In their paper, Stringer and ecologist Jon Stewart from the Bournemouth University in England show how changes in climate have controlled the migration of different types of animals.Studies suggest, for example, that polar bears were once brown bears that became isolated in the north and adapted to the cold conditions." This shows that humans weren't the only ones migrating and evolving because of climate. The quotes, " Ice age conditions may have driven the H. sapiens in what is now China to live and reproduce with the Denisovans." and "Stringer and Stewart also suggest that the Neandertals, another species, may have evolved from an isolated humanlike population in western Asia during ice ages. In addition, the so-called “hobbits,” a short species known to scientists as Homo floresiensis, may also have evolved from other isolated humanlike species." prove that the evolution of humans of many types resulted in the climate changing drastically.

I think it's great that someone came up with this theory, I personally think it is true. People migrate all the time, why would it be unreasonable for them to do it in the past. humans today migrate, if it was cold outside, I would "migrate" inside somewhere, not preserve my body heat. Even animals like birds migrate all the time when it gets too cold. It is an instinct to evacuate when things are to dangerous, just like the ice age. In the big picture this is happening today with global warming. Now animals all around are going to have to migrate to a climate that suits them. This article is more then just evolution.

R&J

The story of Romeo and Juliet is about two family's who have had an old grudge on each other ever since. And a love story between two love birds from each side of the family's. The biggest controversy is if what the parents are doing is right. On one side, Romeo and Juliet should be together. And on the other they shouldn't. I can kind of relate to romeo and juliet because I am also a kid. So I argue with my parents a lot and always think they are wrong, but deep down inside I know they are right.

Romeo and Juliet should be together because they love each other. Just because their parents are in a fight with each other doesn't mean it ruins the chance of two people in love to be together. Being together will probably help the families reunite and finally stop fighting. When romeo first saw juliet, he didn't even know she was a capulet. So that means he wasn't just being with her, because his parents wouldn't allow it and defying their parents will. He only figured that out later. The parents shouldn't try to control who the kids date, because neither of them are doing them wrong.

Romeo and Juliet shouldn't be together because they don't love each other. They are only kids and don't know what love is yet. They shouldn't disobey there parents just to be with someone. Them together cause a lot of drama and bad endings. If they listened to their parents nothing bad would have happened to them, but they decided to defy their rules. Romeo was just looking for someone to fill the hole of his heart that was left by the girl he used to love.

Districts

All the districts are separated. Most people that are in the control of the Capitol have never seen anyone in another district, let alone know about them in any way. This is done on purpose, because the Capitol wants  this to happen. I noticed this on page 283 when Katniss thought the Capitol was going to block out the conversation with Rue. Katniss was really interested in Rue's way of life and she had no idea what anybody did outside of District 12. I am not exactly sure why the Capitol doesn't want the districts to know about each other. Maybe they don't want all the districts to join together and turn on the Capitol. If all the districts joined an alliance I wonder if they had the guts to actually go against Capitol. If the districts broke the barrier and interacted, it could work. What do you think?

family issues

In the book King of the Screwups, the main character Liam really changes by the end. In the beginning of the book Liam messed up and went to live with his uncle. When he was at his uncles, Liam decided to become a new person that his dad would accept. He tried getting bad clothes, and hanging out with unpopular kids who wont get him into trouble. But Liam couldn't resist one day and decided to go to a party. Liam made a bad decision doing that, didn't he learn his lesson? At the party he got drunk, and the neighbors called the cops. Liam could have taken off in the car of his drunk friend but he declined because it was unsafe. Liam can make good decisions if he wants to.

Liam's uncle gave him a little talk about acceptance. His uncle is gay, but his parents didn't accept that about him. That didn't stop Liam's uncle from being who he is though. Liam has to make the decision of joining the army like his father wants him to, or do what he wants, stay in Pinesville and finish high school. I think Liam should do what he wants. His father pushed him around a lot and didn't give Liam the choices he wanted. Now that he has a choice, Liam should stay where he wants and stop trying to impress his dad. His dad doesn't get impressed easily and probably won't ever be proud of Liam. As long as Liam has his own motivation, he shouldn't need his dad.

I found two important messages that I think the book was trying to share. One of them is that you have to choice your decisions wisely because once you do, there is no going back. Liam had to make a lot of decisions throughout this book. He learned to make the right decision by the end of the book. Everyday people decide between billions amounts of options, and those decisions make us who we are today. Another message I saw was that you should be who you are, not what others want you to be. This happens to Liam and his Uncle Pete. A lot of the time people get pressured to something they are not. this happens a lot with groups in middle school. If friends don't accept you for who you are, and want you to change, then they aren't your friend. Same thing goes for family.

family issues

The book King of the Screwups by K.L. Going, is about a boy named Liam Geller. Liam always has the special power of screwing things up, and making his dad upset. I noticed that the protagonist is on a quest for a better life. He wants a better new improved life because his dad kicked him out to go live with his uncle. If Liam doesn't prove he can be responsible enough, his dad won't let him back in the house and he would be nothing.

Liam's mom really impacted him the most positively, at least at the beginning of the book. She really helped Liam when he was going through rough times with his father. When Liam's dad kicked him out, his mom arranged for him to go with his uncle, not his grandparents. He was originally supposed to go to his grandparents, but they detest him. It is small acts of kindness like this one that make people really great. Liam's dad however effected him negatively. A boy can't learn or fix his mistakes if he is being yelled at. I think his father should have been more lenient. If it was me, kicking me out of the house would only make me do worse. Although Liam has been doing really bad, I don't agree with his fathers parenting skills. He is only making Liam stressed out.

 Now that Liam is at his oncles house he make a new life, be a different person. The one his father wants him to be. But his Uncle Pete sees him for who he really is, a slacker who doesn't know what to do with his life. He has to make a hard deccision of which version of himself he can live with. I think Liam is going to try to change for his father so much, but then at the end he realizes he doesn't have to change for his family. He had to be himself, but just try hard and do the right thing.

So far I really like this book because i can relate to it with me and my dads relationship. I can't wait to finish it and I'm looking forward to see whats going to happen.