{"content":{"sharePage":{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28042797","dateCreated":"1286338621","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"maaayyyaaa","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/maaayyyaaa","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1222817730\/maaayyyaaa-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/28042797"},"dateDigested":1531973800,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Coraline","description":"In his novel Coraline, Neil Gaiman takes us on a voyage to the other world. With simple words and subtle meanings, he succeeds in crafting a brilliant tale.
\n
\nCoraline is a young girl who has just moved into a new apartment. The rainy days of summer vacation drag on and on, and her parents are too preoccupied to entertain her. She soon discovers a big black door that opens to nothing but a brick wall behind it. When her parents disappear one evening, she knows she must go through the door. On the other side she finds not a brick wall, but a whole other world where she is greeted by her other parents. They look mostly like her real parents- that is, except for their large, shiny, black button eyes. Her other parents want to keep Coraline in their world forever and ever. Coraline must use all her wits and courage to save her real parents and her real world.
\n
\nCoraline is written in the third person limited. The reader is exposed to both the wisdom of adulthood and the point of view of children. \u201c \u2018Cats don\u2019t have names,\u2019 it said. \u2018No?\u2019 said Coraline. \u2018No,\u2019 said the cat. \u2018Now, you people have names. That\u2019s because you don\u2019t know who you are. We know who we are, so we don\u2019t need names.\u2019 \u201d Through the character of Coraline, Gaiman manages to capture the very essence of childhood straightforwardness and simplicity. \u201cThe limeade was very interesting\u2026 It tasted bright green and vaguely chemical. Coraline liked it enormously. She wished they had it at home.\u201d This book was intended to be a children\u2019s book; Gaiman\u2019s words are simple and unadorned, yet each seems to be handpicked for a specific purpose. Gaiman\u2019s imagery doesn\u2019t comprise of extravagant adjectives and wandering sentences. It is within the simplicity of his writing that we find its beauty. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t the kind of rain you could go out in, it was the other kind, the kind that threw itself down from the sky and splashed where it landed. It was rain that meant business, and currently its business was turning the garden into a wet, muddy soup.\u201d The matter-of-fact tone that Gaiman uses is essential when describing this other surreal world where cats talk and houses become mist. Neither Coraline nor the narrator reflects upon the strangeness of it all, and this is what makes the tale so appealing. Things are said just as they are, without extensive elaborations on the character\u2019s feelings towards them. \u201cThe creature in the sac seemed horribly unformed and unfinished, as if two Plasticine people had been warmed and rolled together, squashed and pressed into one thing. Coraline hesitated. She did not want to approach the thing.\u201d The success of this novel comes from its underlying messages and subtleties disguised in a straightforward plot that an 8-year-old could understand.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28057649","body":"Thanks Maya,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286376314","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"28042063","dateCreated":"1286337168","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"ad.ri","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/ad.ri","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1283992059\/ad.ri-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/28042063"},"dateDigested":1531973801,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"A Wrinkle in Time","description":"As I walked along the lengthy hall set with shelves jam-packed with book upon book some years ago, my eye caught sight of a shabby looking book. It was holding desperately to strips of masking tape yet this aged look only sparked my curiosity even more. I sat down comfortably and started to read Madeleine L\u00b4Engle\u00b4s \u201cA Wrinkle in Time\u201d. From a third-person point of view, leaning a little towards Meg\u00b4s point of view, L\u2019Engle tells the story of how Meg, the daughter of a microbiologist mother and an astrophysicist father, who has disappeared, sets out in a science-fictional search for her father around the universe. Accompanied by her baby brother Charles Wallace, who has a very strange but intelligent mind, and a friend called Calvin O\u2019Keefe, she finds herself traveling through the space in matter of seconds with the help three queer women. On her way she encounters the Black Thing, which is only described as Evil. I read page after page about the fantastical universe just outside our planet, only stopping to figure out the confusing quantum physics included in this novel. However, the first time I read I never considered looking at how the story was told.
\nThe writing style is quite simple and straightforward, though the narrator stays within Meg\u2019s limitations, which means that the readers learn about what\u2019s going on and why at the same time she does. This could be considered minimalist writing since L\u2019Engle gives some information while some must be inferred. At the beginning of the novel Meg suspects that something really queer is happening with Charles Wallace and Calvin. At their first meeting, they act weirdly and Calvin says, \u201cSometimes I get a feeling about things\u2026when I get this feeling, this compulsion, I always do what it tells me\u201d, to which Charles Wallace responds, \u201cMaybe you\u2019d better come home with us and have dinner. [Mother] is going to be delighted. She\u2019s not one of us. But she\u2019s alright,\u201d (33). The reader might be as confused as Meg, who asks confusedly \u201cWhat do you mean, one of us?\u201d However, in context, you might infer that Charles Wallace knows something beyond the understanding of the other characters and besides knows that something will happen, which in fact did.
\n Madeleine L\u2019Engle uses dialogue to further our, as well as Meg\u2019s, knowledge of the other characters aside from their physical appearances. As Meg knows, Calvin is the guy everyone likes yet when he says \u201cI don\u2019t know why I call [my mom] when I don\u2019t come. She wouldn\u2019t notice,\u201d we understand that his life is not as great as everybody thinks.
\nImagery can be found all the way through the novel mostly through allegories. This book was published in 1962, during the height of the Cold War. When Meg approaches her destination at Camazotz she discovers a world controlled by one mind, IT. The IT-possessed Charles Wallace tries to reason with Meg,
\n"Why do you think we have wars at home [on Earth]? Why do you think
\npeople get confused and unhappy? Because they all live their own, separate,
\nindividual lives. I've been trying to explain to you in the simplest possible way
\nthat on Camazotz individuals have been done away with. Camazotz is ONE mind
\n. It's IT. And that's why everybody's so happy and efficient." (179).
\n
\nCamazotz is parallel to the Soviet Union and its communism, which is run a single all-powerful dictator and preaches of the conformity to a single way of being. Madeleine L\u2019Enlge sought to denounce this communism with her writing and did so by making it parallel to the evil IT that controls Camazotz.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28057491","body":"Adrianna,
\n
\nYou did an outstanding job here expressing yourself and explaining your feelings about the book. I really got a sense of it.
\nMy favorite part, however, is the personalized history at the beginning, the relating of how you discovered the book itself. A very charming touch.
\n
\nGood job,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286376189","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28088279","body":"Thank you. I started it like that because when i saw all the other posts, I noticed they all started the same, with the title of the book and the author.","dateCreated":"1286404151","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"ad.ri","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/ad.ri","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1283992059\/ad.ri-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28119377","body":"Well it was inviting and, as I said, charming.
\n
\nThanks","dateCreated":"1286462018","smartDate":"Oct 7, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"28041653","dateCreated":"1286336491","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"danielx_184","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/danielx_184","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/28041653"},"dateDigested":1531973801,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"The Appeal","description":"John Grisham is renowned for his work in the field of political fiction, where he tends to focus on the judiciary system; most of his novels center on a trial. The Appeal is such a novel. It takes place in a small town in Mississippi were a chemical company is found guilty of dumping toxic waste into a small town\u2019s water supply resulting on the death of several people. The Paytons, a couple who are also a law firm take the case to a local court in representation of a now widow, and sonless mother. They win the case and the lady is awarded over 30 million dollars. However the company is not content with this and decides to take the case before the states\u2019 Supreme Court. On the route to the confirmation of the trial the owner of the chemical company pays the campaign of a Supreme Court judge. In the end the new judge becomes a key piece in the trial. He grants his vote in support of Krane Chemicals; leaving all the towns people to deal with the dead and the sick on their own.
\n Throughout the story Grisham is very fond with the use of imagery. While he is not very big on the exact physical description he is able to give the reader enough information to allow him to picture places as they are and the feeling they give. For instance \u201c\u2026an observation post the ship\u2019s highest point above the water. As the cool wind blew his hair, he gripped the brass railing and stared at the mammoth towers of the financial district\u201d This description, with the information that comes before it, paints the idea of a very wealthy man who is enjoying his yacht. The fact that he is a highest point asseverates the fact that he feels superior; the idea that he is somehow king of the world. Grisham words serve another purpose other than describing the scene, they describe the character.
\nHe also tends to use similes along his writing to help him sustain a point. For instance in the opening paragraph of his novel he says \u201cthe spectators watched like hawks\u2026\u201d this only gives an idea of the people watching the trial, however he does show how they feel and reflects on their obvious impatience. Another example used to reflect character feeling resides upon \u201cshe was kind of arthritic to hit the streets\u201d. Rather than say, she did not like walking, he would rather say that she is painful about hitting the streets. She rather do something else than go through the pain of walking.
\n The use of imagery to build up characters rather than mere description, and the use of comparisons and imagery itself to describe the setting make this novel outstanding. The reader is clenched to his place wanting to find out more. The use of imager and comparison add to the suspense created throughout the novel. The author forces the reader to immerge on the characters\u2019 world and be one more of their kind which in turn forces them to devise into future events; that in the end turn out to be contrary to the usual for throughout the novel one is led to believe that the Paytons are to win the case and in the end they dont.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28057091","body":"Thanks Daniel...
\n
\nSome issues:
\n
\n1)'...supply resulting on the death of several people. ' What is the problem with this?
\n
\n2) Some issues here: 'The Paytons, a couple who are also a law firm take the case to a local court in representation of a now widow, and sonless mother.' The Paytons are actually a law firm? A 'now widow'? a 'sonless' person? How can we fix this up?
\n
\n3)'...before the states\u2019 Supreme Court.' Two mistakes here.
\n
\n4) 'The fact that he is a highest point...' Sorry??
\n
\n5) What is the correct spelling for 'somehow'?
\n
\n6) 'She rather do something else than go through the pain of walking.' See the mistake?
\n
\n7) 'immerge ' Sorry, what was that again?
\n
\nDon't forget to proofread in general. There are quite a few mistakes here, other than the ones that I pointed out, that could have been avoided if you had looked this over after you wrote it.
\n
\nI do appreciate your ideas.. you made a good case for character imagery in describing the wealthy man on his ship mast. I think that we nee to work on some of your grammar, so your ideas are expressed with the clarity that they deserve.
\n
\nThanks,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286375933","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28072747","body":"Thank you Mr. Webster I will look over those mistakes and repost in a little while. Until when do I have chance to post the final one?","dateCreated":"1286389625","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"danielx_184","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/danielx_184","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28118349","body":"You have until Friday, but you might want to answer earlier in case there are still mistakes so then you will have time to fix them.","dateCreated":"1286461431","smartDate":"Oct 7, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"28033513","dateCreated":"1286325795","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"caro3arias","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/caro3arias","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/28033513"},"dateDigested":1531973801,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Water is Life ","description":"Water is Life was published in a National Geographic magazine. It is written by Barbara Kingsolver, who paints a beautiful picture of the abundance of water by her home and then contrasts it with the utter lack of this sacred liquid in the Bajo Piura Valley. She reminds of us its importance: \u201cWater is life. It is the briny broth of our origins, the pounding circulatory system of the world\u201d.
\n
\nAt the beginning of the article, one can practically feel the cool touch of drops on their faces, the fresh taste of water sliding down their throats. The paragraphs are rich with imagery: \u201ca spider web drooping with dew like a rhinestone necklace\u201d, \u201cfrogs\u2026 dozens of them hurtled up from the grass ahead of out feet, launching themselves, white-bellied, in bouncing arcs\u201d. She creates a refreshing, deceiving fa\u00e7ade that there is plenty of water because she witnesses it every morning.
\n
\nShe then slowly changes that mood with careful wording and description. The \u201cretirees from rainier climes irrigate green lawns that impersonate the grasslands they left behind\u201d in Arizona. The \u201ccacti tighten their belts and roadrunners skirmish over precious beads from a dripping faucet\u201d. She slowly drains the water out of the narrative, almost making the reader uncomfortable, planting a small urge to drink a glass to remind ourselves its still there.
\n
\nAnd then she bluntly goes to the extreme: the Bajo Piura Valley in Peru. It has \u201csome of the driest sand [she] has ever gotten in [her] shoes\u201d. She describes the constant worry of the people living here that they won\u2019t find water. \u201cA dozen hopeful men in stained straw hats stood back to let me inspect their work, which had so far only yielded a mountain of exhumed sand, dry as dust\u201d. She describes a vast, parched area with emotion. \u201cI looked down the dark hole and climbed the sand mound to hide my unprofessional tears\u201d.
\n
\nKingsolver gives water a marvelous essence in the article. In her writing, water is alive. \u201cA glass of water has caught the afternoon light, and I am still looking for wonders. It is an ancient, dazzling relic, temporarily quarantined here in my glass, waiting to return to its kind, waiting to move with the mountain\u201d.
\n
\nI think Kingsolver does a fabulous job of turning what could be a dull science article into something that makes one picture the beauty of water and question our future as it diminishes. She uses a lot of imagery and metaphors, yet includes proven statistics. From the water \u201csplitting open desert rock like a peach, leaving mile deep gashes of infinite hue\u201d to \u201cEarth seems to raise its own voice to the pitch of the gale\u201d, this writing moves the reader with its beautiful description.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28055903","body":"Carolina,
\n
\nI am so impressed here... I especially appreciate how you connect the topics (water, lack of, thirst) with the style, the narrative of the piece. "She slowly drains the water out of the narrative, almost making the reader uncomfortable,..." Quality thinking and simple, clear writing.
\n
\nWell done,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286374990","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"28033045","dateCreated":"1286325384","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"paulasev_th","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/paulasev_th","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1265121950\/paulasev_th-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/28033045"},"dateDigested":1531973802,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"All Quiet on the Western Front","description":"Paula Sevilla
\nAll Quiet on the Western Front
\n
\n
\nAll Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, is an incredibly powerful book. Paul and his high school comrades are enlisted to serve in the army during World War I. This act is seen as heroic and glorious, but it is not really this way. This book tells the story of a generation that became traumatized and destroyed because of the war. This is such a powerful book, first, because its desperate and sorrowful mood is kept throughout the whole book, injecting the reader with it. For example, Paul states, \u201cWe were eighteen and had began to love life and the world; and we tore it to pieces,\u201d (87). The hard contrast between love and then war, life and then death, creates a bigger cliff in which the reader falls and clashes on the bottom, heartbroken. This generation is also described as \u201cforlorn like children, and experienced like old men, we are crude and sorrowful and superficial \u2013 I believe we are lost,\u201d (123). With every somber adjective, the feelings grow darker, and when the reader reaches the word \u201clost,\u201d the desperation and desolation sits in the heart. Desperation also appears with the questions, \u201cWhat will happen afterwards? And what shall come out of us?\u201d (264). The fear of the future of the miserable soldiers enhances the gloomy mood of the story.
\n All Quiet on the Western Front is so powerful because of the extraordinary descriptions. Vivid metaphors create a perfect, strong image in the readers mind. For example, when the author says that \u201cthe front is a cage in which we must await fearfully whatever may happen,\u201d (101), the image of a cage strengthens the tension and desperation of the scene. When Paul is at the front, he wants to stop thinking about the horrors he is doing. He then says, \u201cI am frightened; I dare this way no more. This way lies the abyss.\u201d (194). The abyss is the insanity that comes with the mixture of war and questioning. The insanity is dark, unclear, unending, just like an abyss. Perhaps the most touching, ardent, and passionate description in the book is that of the earth. The relationship between the earth and the soldier surpasses any other one, since, \u201cwhen he presses himself down upon her long and powerfully, when he buries his face and his limbs deep in her from the fear of death by shell-fire, the she is his only friend, his brother, his mother, he stifles his terror and his cries in her silence and her security,\u201d (55). The author here joins the image of war and fear with that of calmness and protection of a mother. Description is also powerful when Paul describes his life by saying, \u201cI see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another.\u201d (263). Every adverb creates a clearer image of the conditions of the soldiers at war. Finally, when Paul arrives home and looks at his books in his room, he \u201cimplore[s] them with [his] eyes: Speak to me\u2026 take me Life of my Youth \u2013 you who are carefree, beautiful \u2013 receive me again-\u201c (172). He personifies his books, comparing them even with a divine creature, intensifying the feelings perceived by the reader.
\n All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Remarque is without a doubt one of the most startling and striking books I have ever read. This is because of how the mood gets into the reader\u2019s body and the beautiful and magnificent descriptive writing.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28055581","body":"Great job, Paula,
\n
\nOne question... how should we punctuate the titles of novels?
\n
\nThanks,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286374758","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28090001","body":"Mr. Webster,
\nthe titles of novels have to be underlined, even though in the wiki one can't underline.
\nThanks!
\n
\nPaula Sevilla","dateCreated":"1286406026","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"paulasev_th","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/paulasev_th","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1265121950\/paulasev_th-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28119427","body":"Thanks Paula,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286462038","smartDate":"Oct 7, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"28028807","dateCreated":"1286321002","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"MaFe1595","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/MaFe1595","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/28028807"},"dateDigested":1531973802,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Splendor","description":"Splendor:
\n
\n
\nSplendor is the fourth, and last book of The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen. It is a very addictive book. I liked that in every single chapter, something new happens, and not until the last two chapters of the book, does the reader know how the book will end. The end is very unexpected in a way. It\u2019s very minimalist because the author doesn\u2019t give a lot away. It leaves us hanging and wanting to know more about the destiny of our characters. The book itself is very catchy. It\u2019s not the typical love story and it is very realistic. The book takes place in New York in the year 1899, so we get to see the culture, the manners, the architecture and the gossip of New York\u2019s high society at the time. At the beginning of each book, the author gives reference to an article of a newspaper that makes the book real. It makes the characters come to life. Anna Godbersen is very descriptive, but not so much as to make you sick. She describes the dresses and the architecture of houses. Her descriptions are very vivid. \u201cPenelope let her made-up lids fall for a moment and when she\u2019d opened them again the bright blues of her eyes\u2026\u201d The author writes in a way that you can feel Penelope\u2019s icy, cold, deep blue eyes staring at you, or the feeling of silk gloves on your hands, or the chilly New York breeze when walking down through Central Park. The narrator is third person, omniscient because he\/she describes the character\u2019s feelings. The narrator, though, focuses on one character per chapter. We see the point of view of different characters, we know what they think and feel, but the character is telling this to us through the narrator. The characters are very well developed because the author describes them in a very detailed way. They each have signature gestures. For example, Penelope winks as a way to say hi. Both physically and psychologically. It\u2019s very easy to picture them. Anna doesn\u2019t use many metaphors or similes and she\u2019s very straightforward, there\u2019s nothing hidden, but it is very suspenseful. The reader can try to guess the end of the book, but then it changes and what the reader thought would happen, doesn\u2019t happen. In every chapter, something new happens. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so addictive, because she knows how to give suspense to a novel, and yet at the end, it all makes sense. It is very well written and it is written in a formal speech. It makes you feel like you are back in 1899, and people used to speak in a very formal tone. There\u2019s no colloquialism, but it\u2019s very easy to understand and to follow along with it. There is nothing confusing, even though a lot of things happen in the plot of the story. It\u2019s a good story that makes sense and it shows culture from a different time and it really catches the essence of the time, and the characters, and the plot. It\u2019s a very good book and I highly recommend it.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28055301","body":"Great MaFe,
\n
\nYou did an excellent job detailing your reasons for liking this novel as well as investigate some of the terms and elements of the narrative.
\n
\nOne question: what is the correct way to punctuate the titles of novels?
\n
\nThanks,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286374569","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28086027","body":"I should underline it or put it in italics... sorry about that but thank you very much, Mr. Webster.","dateCreated":"1286401583","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"MaFe1595","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/MaFe1595","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28118473","body":"No worries, MaFe,
\n
\nAnd never be sorry.
\n
\nThanks,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286461523","smartDate":"Oct 7, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"28015333","dateCreated":"1286305313","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"tammy_sev","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/tammy_sev","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1285868666\/tammy_sev-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/28015333"},"dateDigested":1531973802,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Unwind: Neal Shusterman","description":"The novel Unwind by Neal Shusterman is located in the future, where unwanted kids are sent to be unwound, meaning killed to sell their body parts as transplants for other persons. In this intense novel three kids escape their unpleasant destiny. If they can survive until the age of eighteen then they can live a normal life, but if not they will suffer to save someone else\u2019s. Connor, Lev, and Risa stay hidden for months and have to fight a big battle at the end. This was one of the books that kept me wanting for more. I always thought it was for the story itself, but now I think it could be by the way it was written. The author tells the story with different points of views. The main characters, Connor, Lev, and Risa, point of view appear all over the story, the narrator is in 3rd person but it changes from point of view to point of view across the story. The author even includes points of view of minor characters such as a mother, a cop, a teacher, and others. He uses a lot of foreshadowing, and description that help to keep someone intrigues, such as we have studied in class, With this story the reader is almost participating in the story, because he\/she is making assumptions of what is happening or would happen. We can see this when Connor gets the arm transplant and he starts describing how his new arm feels. \u201cHe flexes the fingers. They flex. He twists his wrist. It twists. The fingernails need clipping, and the knuckles are thicker than his own,\u201d (pg. 319). The narrator uses a whole lot of description throughout the story. In this part we can read how Connor was feeling and his every move. The narrator also uses foreshadowing when he says, \u201cThen he rotates his wrist a bit farther, and stops. He feels a wave of panic surge through him, one that resolves into a knot deep in his gut,\u201d (pg. 319). We can assume that Connor has discovered something bad about this arm, later on we see that this arm was special, since it was his ex- enemy\u2019s. By being descriptive he doesn\u2019t have to tell us everything that is going on in the story and we can assume it. I like this because I am not just reading the facts and I can participate more in the story. If he had been more direct maybe the story wouldn\u2019t have been as interesting as it is. This is the kind of story that keeps you up late reading, you are intrigued to know hat happens next and even though it\u2019s not as descriptive as the narrator\u2019s thoughts would be the way he uses to describe the character\u2019s action and thoughts gives us a in depth reading of what is happening.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28024465","body":"Alright Tamara,
\n
\n1) How should we punctuate the titles of novels?
\n2) What do you mean that the novel is 'located'? Is that really the word that you want?
\n
\nOtherwise, pretty good.
\n
\nThanks,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286315970","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27986435","dateCreated":"1286256067","smartDate":"Oct 4, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"julibarca10","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/julibarca10","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1269448814\/julibarca10-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27986435"},"dateDigested":1531973803,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Hit Hard ","description":"Hit Hard
\n
\nOne of the latest books I read was Hit Hard, which is the autobiography of Aerosmith drummer Joey Krammer. I know these are usually considered bad books, since they are commercial and written for the masses, but I find them interesting to try to see if you can get a hang of the voice of each different person, and In a sense grasp an inner sense of how the person is or at least pretends to be. \u201cThis was the Marlin Hotel, a jet-set place a couple of blocks off Ocean Drive in South Beach. I was completely losing it. Surrounded by palm trees, Ferraris, halter tops and those exotic drinks with the little umbrellas.\u201d (pg. 1) Obviously narration is essential for this since the whole point is to be able to convey the author\u2019s voice and they do, in the previous quote, we see how the use of colloquial terms like \u201cjet-set\u201d, and exotic drinks, can convey a type of feeling that the narrator is out of place and he feels uncomfortable with the situation he is in right now, he feels out of place. I think that this type of narrative in which the author is very efficient when writing these types of books because it gives you a feeling that the narrator is talking with you, he is telling you the story. \u201cWhat the fuck is going on? It doesn\u2019t make sense. (pg. 1.)\u201d The narrator expresses himself as if he were talking to a long time friend. This connects the reader to the story and allows him to connect to the character, or in this case narrator because you can identify to his way of being, his way of thinking about different subjects like the cars, drinks etc, give us insight into the narrators mind. This style also works well because it is what you expect from a rock star, you can\u2019t expect them to talk with long and eloquent terms. What doesn\u2019t work to me from this style is that it takes away a lot of reality, since the truth can easily be hidden \u201cObviously the musical connection is critical, but for me, being in a band is also about the camaraderie and the shared commitment. I need that, and it is what gives me a kind of real joy. But it\u2019s not always easy to get that-even if you want it.\u201d Joey here talks about how the connection and camaraderie and shared commitment are the joy of being in a band but, Aerosmith is known for having a lot of internal band conflicts especially now, but back in the early 80\u2019s too so it is easy to write to fool the reader. Also, it is written so that you can identify with the narrator, and like him no matter what. The story doesn\u2019t\u2019 contain points from what we have studied in class since the narrative is in first person and not in third person, and we haven\u2019t yet read a first person short story.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28003143","body":"Alright Julian,
\n
\nI like your unusual choice of books, but don't think that a rocker's biography can't be provocative or stimulating reading. It certainly can. Why do you say though, '... [the style] is what you expect from a rock star, you can\u2019t expect them to talk with long and eloquent terms'? Why not?
\n
\nThanks,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286293476","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28020677","body":"well i say this because a great majority of the rockstars didn't even finish school and you rarely get to see one using long and eloquent terms. I mean it because it is like a stereo type for people to believe rock stars are like a mess and they aren't very clever, just like the sex, drugs and rock n roll. I dont know if you understand what i mean. It would be easier for me to explain in person.","dateCreated":"1286311500","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"julibarca10","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/julibarca10","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1269448814\/julibarca10-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28024695","body":"That's fine Julian,
\n
\nI will just throw out some names of very well-educated rock stars, men and women who are thoughtful, reasonable and artistic: Bob Dylan, David Byrne, Lou Reed, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, etc.
\n
\nThat's all,
\n
\nThanks,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286316236","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27984599","dateCreated":"1286249365","smartDate":"Oct 4, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"fabiborelly31","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/fabiborelly31","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1225493296\/fabiborelly31-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27984599"},"dateDigested":1531973803,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"The Most Dangerous Game","description":"\u201cThe Most Dangerous Game\u201d is a short story written by Richard Connell. It tells the story of Sanger Rainsford, a hunter traveling to the Amazon forest in search of the jaguar. While sailing down the Amazon, Rainsford hears gunshots and drops his pipe. While trying to retrieve his pipe, he falls off the edge off the boat and into the water. Rainsford quickly realizes that he can\u2019t reach the boat, so he decides to swim and reaches Ship-Trap Island. While on the island, he meets a hunter named General Zaroff. Zaroff then proceeds to inform Rainsford that he became so good at hunting that the thrill was gone and the sport was now boring. Therefore, he had decided to go move to an island where he could capture shipwrecked sailors and given them nothing but food, a knife, and hunting clothes and throw them into the jungle while he hunts them. If the sailor managed to survive for three days, they would be set free, but Zaroff has never lost so far. Rainsford soon becomes Zaroff\u2019s latest victim and he is forced to fight for his survival.
\nThe text is definitely successful. It is not only suspenseful and mysterious, but it is dark and frightening. It shows the true colors of human nature. It is interesting how the story depicts a series of events that emphasize the human instincts to kill and the addiction to adrenaline and the thrill. The fact that a hunter can so easily become the prey and that mankind always has this fatal attraction to death. The fact that not much of this is actually written also serves as a tool to enhance the story. The author never clearly states that this game is means to portray the brutality and desensitizing of human beings, but it is throw the actions of the characters that we actually understand this aspect of the story and this message the author is trying to present. Rainsford is confident and strong. He can take anything and is certain about his role in the big picture: \u201cThis world's divided into two kinds of people: the hunter and the hunted. Luckily I'm the hunter. Nothing can change that\u201d. When the tables are turned however, it becomes a situation in which the reader is posed with the question: What makes the hunter and what makes the prey? Not only this, but also, what makes us different from animals? Is it our morals, our behavior, our code of law? "Sometimes I think evil is a tangible thing - with wave lengths, just as sound and light have." Through the actions of the main characters, especially through the macabre General Zaroff, a message in underlined, written between the lines. It is not subtle or subliminal in any way, but it is not directly stated at any moment. It is this type of indirect writing which makes this short story so powerful. Also the fact that it poses so many questions for the reader that truly questions human nature and its limits, if any. \u201cThe Most Dangerous Game\u201d is truly a successful short story.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28001679","body":"Fabian,
\n
\nGreat. Simple, clear, to the point, but...
\n
\n1) What is this? '...but it is throw the actions of the characters...'
\n
\n2) Do you mind looking up the literary phrase 'intentional fallacy' and briefly address whether you think that you have do such. Even, perhaps, if not explicitly, but could the reader of this posting infer that you have?
\n
\nThanks,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286292230","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28023373","body":"1. But it is through the actions of the characters...
\n
\n2. "Intentional fallacy, in literary criticism, addresses the assumption that the meaning intended by the author of a literary work is of primary importance. By characterizing this assumption as a "fallacy", a critic suggests that the author's intention is not important." Intentional fallacy is a way to refute the idea, that we, as a reader, should try to find the meaning or the motives behind the author and the story. According to intentional fallacy, the reader should not try to suggest or propose any specific ideas that would try to represent what the author originally intended or what the author war thinking.
\nI feel that it wasn't my intention to try to represent my own ideas about the story as what the author had originally intended, but people could certainly make the conclusion that I am.
\nIt seems that when I write: "It shows the true colors of human nature. It is interesting how the story depicts a series of events that emphasize the human instincts to kill and the addiction to adrenaline and the thrill," the response acts as if there were no other ways to interpret it. It seems quite totalitarian, maybe even like an ultimatum. Like I said before, I wasn't trying to put myself in the shoes of Richard Connell (the author) and explain my reasoning behind the story and the characters, but I just felt that the message I expressed earlier stands out in such a way that this is why the story is so powerful and meaningful.
\nIn the end, the reader of this posting could certainly infer that I have tried to take over Connell's intentions, mostly because I write in such an absolute way. For example: "The author never clearly states that this game is means to portray the brutality and desensitizing of human beings, but it is through the actions of the characters that we actually understand this aspect of the story and this message the author is trying to present,". It seems that the reader can infer that I try to show that this is the only way in which the story can be seen and what the author intended in the first place, but then again, I only wrote like this because this message truly stood up in the page for me when I read the story.","dateCreated":"1286314671","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"fabiborelly31","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/fabiborelly31","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1225493296\/fabiborelly31-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28024601","body":"Thanks Fabian,
\n
\nThis response displays a rather complex mind and intricate thought system.
\n
\nThanks for cleaning that up.
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286316096","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"27981777","dateCreated":"1286244359","smartDate":"Oct 4, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"teagvest","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/teagvest","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/27981777"},"dateDigested":1531973803,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Lord of the Flies","description":" Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a highly successful prose text. While maintaining vagueness between actual meanings compared to fantasy, the author keeps every aspect under control to produce a masterpiece. For example, after the boys have been on the island for a while and are settling into the new life, he tells that \u201cStrange things happened at midday. The glittering sea rose up, moved apart in planes of blatant impossibility; the coral reef and the few stunted palms that clung to the more elevated parts would float up into the sky, would quiver, be plucked apart, run like raindrops on a wire or be repeated as in an odd succession of mirrors\u201d (Golding 58). It employs abstract illustrations and modern ideas, but the obvious and understated message behind it is that children are wildly impressionable and undisciplined. They see anything they want to. They see things how they want to see them. Without some kind of restraint, whether by adults or not, they will literally go crazy. They succumb to the Id.
\n
\n Golding narrates this expertly, as well, which only elevates the quality of the novel. He is an omniscient narrator; he knows the character themselves, their actions, as well as their thoughts. Using this, he crafts a story of trust and betrayal, of freedom but slavery. He writes about their adventures, at first, and then bluntly blurs their descent into savagery. Ralph, the leader-turned-outcast, voices that \u201c[he\u2019s] frightened. Of [them]. [He] want[s] to go home. Oh God, [he] want[s] to go home\u201d (157). This was a day following a violent \u2018dance\u2019 of sorts where one of the boys was murdered. At first, their freedom was something to celebrate. But as order collapses and as he loses control of his boys, Golding shows us that unrestrained children are a burden and a horror to humanity. They do what they want. They ignore authority. And he is never very direct; all of his messages are portrayed through expert use of symbolism and metaphoric analogies. He does not come straight out and say that the boys are become savage. He does not write a section every now and then to say how the boys are regressing. It is shown through their actions and thoughts and the symbolism of both natural and human events taking place on the island. The narrative focus of this story is the message about undisciplined children and the indirectness in which this is displayed.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"28001159","body":"Teag,
\n
\nGood job, but a couple of issues...
\n
\n1) How could we make the following more fluid? '...he tells that \u201cStrange things happened at midday..."'.
\n
\n2) The following sentence show me that you have thought this out for yourself and astutely read "behind" the lines to develop your own theories. 'It employs abstract illustrations and modern ideas, but the obvious and understated message behind it is that children are wildly impressionable and undisciplined.'OK,good. But what exactly do you mean by 'modern ideas?' Could you explain that a bit more thoroughly, please? (But I am impressed by there development of your thoughts here, especially as you involve the infamous Id.
\n
\n3) How should we punctuate the titles of novels?
\n
\n4) Slight (and obvious)grammatical error here: 'He does not come straight out and say that the boys are become savage.'
\n
\nOtherwise though, Teag, I am thoroughly impressed.
\n
\nThanks,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286291738","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28033605","body":"OK Mr. Webster- here is my corrected answer. Oh and by the way, on the Word document I copied and pasted this from, the title was underlined, but when I copied it onto here it didn't stay underlined. So... I know it should be underlined- sorry.
\n
\n
\n Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a highly successful prose text. While maintaining vagueness between actual meanings compared to fantasy, the author keeps every aspect under control to produce a masterpiece. For example, after the boys have been on the island for a while and are settling into the new life, he begins to anonymously describe the changes happening in their minds. As they began to regress, \u201cStrange things happened at midday. The glittering sea rose up, moved apart in planes of blatant impossibility; the coral reef and the few stunted palms that clung to the more elevated parts would float up into the sky, would quiver, be plucked apart, run like raindrops on a wire or be repeated as in an odd succession of mirrors\u201d (Golding 58). It employs abstract illustrations and the modern humanistic idea of delving into individuals\u2019 minds, but the obvious and understated message behind it is that children are wildly impressionable and undisciplined. They see anything they want to. They see things how they want to see them. Without some kind of restraint, whether by adults or not, they will literally go crazy. They succumb to the Id.
\n
\n Golding narrates this expertly, as well, which only elevates the quality of the novel. He is an omniscient narrator; he knows the character themselves, their actions, as well as their thoughts. Using this, he crafts a story of trust and betrayal, of freedom but slavery. He writes about their adventures, at first, and then bluntly blurs their descent into savagery. Ralph, the leader-turned-outcast, voices that \u201c[he\u2019s] frightened. Of [them]. [He] want[s] to go home. Oh God, [he] want[s] to go home\u201d (157). This was a day following a violent \u2018dance\u2019 of sorts where one of the boys was murdered. At first, their freedom was something to celebrate. But as order collapses and as he loses control of his boys, Golding shows us that unrestrained children are a burden and a horror to humanity. They do what they want. They ignore authority. And he is never very direct; all of his messages are portrayed through expert use of symbolism and metaphoric analogies. He does not come straight out and say that the boys are becoming savage. He does not write a section every now and then to say how the boys are regressing. It is shown through their actions and thoughts and the symbolism of both natural and human events taking place on the island. The narrative focus of this story is the message about undisciplined children and the indirectness in which this is displayed.","dateCreated":"1286325884","smartDate":"Oct 5, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"teagvest","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/teagvest","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"28056017","body":"Great Teag,
\n
\nBetter.
\n
\nAs I told you yesterday parts of this display a very fine reading of the text and a concise expression on the part of the writer.
\n
\nGood work,
\n
\nWebster","dateCreated":"1286375107","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"davidgarethw","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/davidgarethw","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]}],"more":true},"comments":[]},"http":{"code":200,"status":"OK"},"redirectUrl":null,"javascript":null,"notices":{"warning":[],"error":[],"info":[],"success":[]}}