Extra Credit: Margaret Atwood "Happy Endings"

Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings was interesting because I had dealt with a similar conundrum of how most books represent the same themes. Atwood’s view is that all books contain variations of the same plot. I think it’s true. Its hard I think to be any more creative than your predecessors, in literature and music especially. Shakespeare created hundreds of literary works, and most of their themes are still prevalent today. Authors generally create stories about people, and though every person is unique, just the sheer number of people alive today make it hard for people to be that different. Similar people react in similar ways, and though books do attempt to replicate this it’s nearly impossible to end a book completely originally now.
Atwood said “true connoisseurs...are known to favor the stretch in between, since it's the hardest to do anything with. That's about all that can be said for plots, which anyway are just one thing after another, a what and a what and a what.” I completely agree with this statement, because it shows how though its nearly impossible to end with an authentic ending, books are still entrancing because of plot orchestration. How you get to the ending is more important than the ending itself.
I have read books that thoroughly pissed me off, mainly because they didn’t have happy endings. I really like happy endings, as unsophisticated and immature as this is. Two books in specific that I still remember being mad at the author for having screwed up the ending were The Street by Ann Petry and Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett. I read Anna of Byzantium a long time ago, but it still sticks out in my memory because of how frustrated I was by how horrible the main character’s life was, and it never got better. It was so aggravating, and I just felt like crying in the end. I picked up The Street this year because I had liked the excerpt we read in class, and it was interesting, but at the end the main character is bull dozed by society and its overall, pretty depressing. I can’t fathom why anyone would want to read about depressing things; I certainly didn’t pick up the book because I was looking forward to the main character’s death.
I guess one could argue that’s the point of art; controversy , discussion and provocation. Books would be less interesting if you knew everyone was going to be fine in the end too I suppose. However, I think creating intentionally sad endings is unnecessary and a failure of any attempt to shock the world and achieve literary merit.

Final Blog

For one question I’m addressing in my last post, I will recommend a good book. One book that’s not necessarily well known that I thought was terrific was The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes. I’ve written about it before in my blog about my favorite books, but here’s why I think its so great: I think anyone would argue that the best thing about books is that they’re entertaining. If you pick up a good book that’s really worth your time, you’ll want to read it all the time, and it surpasses the entertainment level of many things-including movies. The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain is so completely engrossing and gripping, and it deals with moral issues that don’t come up very often, and show a full spectrum of views pertaining to this issue. I loved it because it didn’t have a typical plot, it wasn’t totally predictable, and the characters were very interesting. You should definitely read it if you get a chance!
The second question I will answer is who in my life has most influenced me. Of course my family affected my childhood, but my sister in particular has been my role model for my whole life. I think having an older sibling is great, because they lead the way, and you can learn from what they do. My sister is a good kid, she was a great student and was hardly a rebel during high school. I have perpetual low confidence from knowing how much smarter she is compared to myself. However, this has inspired me to push myself harder and want to excel. Even some of the things I’m good at were inspired by her. Take saxophone for instance, I originally started because my sister thought saxophone was cool. When I got the opportunity to choose any instrument and learn it, I wanted to be cool so I picked saxophone. My sister is also completely independent. She is only twenty yet has moved out, is living 8 hours away from home and has taken up the profession of her dreams. I am always astounded by how quickly she adjusts and is able to obtain information so thoroughly, and think she is very courageous for having realized what she loved to do was not in fact, chemical engineering, but pastry baking! I admire my sister because she is so successful at being herself, and is an extremely hard worker, and will take initiative to do what she finds necessary. (Please don’t judge me for being corny).
These blogs have been interesting, but sort of weird because they’re so focused on the author. I feel like I’m talking to myself most of the time but if you have learned anything or take any of my book recommendations then good for you. I don’t think either of the questions I answered above are particularly informative about who I am, and I knew I was trying to avoid that when making my question choice. But I know I have to get over being so self conscious by next fall when we start the college application process, and this definitely helped because I know that what I’m publishing is corny but I’m doing it anyway.
And.. That’s my experience of blogging in a nutshell.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Well I just got the chance to start my book today during 3rd block. I’m reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, and it certainly is engrossing. The focus of the omniscient narration switches effortlessly between characters, which has allowed me to see the perspectives and motivations of most of the main characters. The book is captivating because so far (I’m on page 115), though the author is straightforward in his storytelling, the main plot and conflict is yet to be revealed. The characters have been interesting so far, a melange of the ordinary and curious.
The characterization and characters themselves are interesting, I like how as each new character is brought to light, an autobiography follows, but nothing too long or dry, just the essentials that the author felt were necessary for the reader to understand where they’re coming from. The main man, Mikael Blomkvist is a financial journalist who seems to only want to reveal the truth and corruption of the industrialist financiers, but at the start of the book is caught in an uncomfortable situation and has just been found guilty for allegations against an important financial company, though the reader is inclined to think he was innocent. Another interesting character is Lisbeth Salander, a total enigma to her employer but excellent at her investigative job. She always turns in “flawless reports” which bluntly reveal the secrets of her subjects, which is also intriguing because it;’s like she can find anything out and practically destroy people if she would like. I suppose in all books there must be that one character that a part of every one wants to be (is that normal?). She is patient yet assertive, and seems to be confident that she knows exactly what she wants to do all the time, all cool and controlled!
I admire how Larsson fabricates the plot of the book; so far it has stayed on par with the reviews I have read. The plot is many faceted; it contains numerous elements which I can tell will evolve into an even more complicated story, and there has been a lot of storytelling via dialogue as well which could have potentially been boring but is broken up and more engaging than one would think.
Another element I think is helpful in the book (as it keeps switching around so much) is how each chapter tells what days it covers in “present time”. There is a lot of history being revealed throughout the book, but the way the dates given allows the reader to stay focused and gives a good idea of the time frame of things, and reveals its fast pace.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the first 5 chapters and am impatient to read more!

The Plots are Predictable.

Well I haven't gotten my book yet, so though I would love to be posting about The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I can't. But thinking about what to write here made me think about the general truths of literacy. One of the first things that came to mind was how ethical our socratic seminars got this year! (And when they weren't ethical, they were mainly about pop culture.)I suppose this isn't new, books have been outlining the rights and wrongs forver; they're stories, they originate from fables and myths and all that good stuff. But I find it interesting how literature pretty much depends on such themes to make it interesting, or "good" in the minds of the critiquing master minds.
Must literature always reveal something about human nature? I'm surprised that things are still being "realized" by people, that new plots can develop..I think it's actually surprising that we can still find it interesting.

My Favorite Books.

It's hard to say what the best book I have ever read was. Some of my favorites: The Secret Life Of CeeCee Wilkes, The Namesake, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. All of these books show a very full span of the characters lives, which might be why I love them so much. I think when I understand a fictional world better the book is more enjoyable. Of course, if there's too much detail it gets tedious and completely boring, but the authors of the books I just named are just excellent story tellers in my opinion. Take Harry Potter, kids love it because it gives them an outlet to a whole other fantastical world, and I think that's a big part of it's appeal. The novels stated above were extremely gripping too. It's very annoying reading books don't draw me in the beginning because it makes reading work, and it can take a long time if it's not enjoyable. But I suppose I should just come back to those books, as I think I'll appreciate them more when I'm older. But that could be totally false. Oh well. Guess I'll find out.

the beginning of my literacy.

When I was little, I used to read with my mom mainly, but my sister would read to me too if she felt like it; I remember that at one point I made her read me the same book about a sailor dog over and over in one afternoon, which probably dissuaded her from doing it again. Before I learned to read, I would look at the pictures in books and create my own version of the storyline. Or I would recognize the first letters in the words and base my story around that. Probably around the same time or a little before, I discovered my mom's old type writer and would rapidly type any combination of letters that looked appealing, then run to my mom and make her scan it for any words I might have jumbled together by chance. I don't remember the first book I actually read, but it was probably one of those first reader, one syllable word shindigs- they were a big deal in first grade.