Not Much to Talk About...

The title says it all...nothing really exciting has happened since my last blog, and I don't expect anything much to happen this weekend, seeing as how I will be quarantined in my house until Monday. I am, however, feeling much better today than yesterday. I think the worst is over; I'm still not 100%, but I'm sure I'll be feeling much better by the time Greece rolls around.

Well, this is my final post for quarter 4. Lets reminisce the things that have happened English-wise over the past weeks:

• Read/finished/comprehended the Odyssey
• Read/finished/comprehended All the Pretty Horses
• Wrote a paper on the Odyssey
• Read The House of the Scorpion and blogged about it about 10 times
  
• Currently in the process of writing a short story following the 'hero quest' pattern

WOW what an eventful quarter! Roll your eyes at that last comment. Its been fun, but I'm so ready for a break. Only eight more days. We'll make it.

New Developments

So it turns out that the plague is actually influenza. This morning I woke up around 7:20 feeling horrible, my parents told me to go back to bed, and I slept until about 9 am. Then I went to the doctor at 10, where I was diagnosed with the flu. I'm contagious for the weekend, and I'm not able to go to school tomorrow. Supposedly I am allowed to return on Monday, and I feel like I have to since it is the end of the quarter and I've missed two and a half days of school already. But, my grandma thinks that I should stay home all week so I can rest and be better for Greece.

My doctor said that if I was going on a trip to the North Shore or something she would advise me not to go, but since it is a trip to Greece, I should go and risk being sore, lacking energy, etc. There is no way on earth that I would miss this trip and I'm going to do everything I can in order to get better.

The only reason I am on the computer is because I need to get my last two blogs in. I haven't been able to work on my chemistry write up or the English story because I literally slept all day today, and being in front of a computer screen would undoubtedly make my already aching head worse. I took an Advil earlier today, and it seemed to relieve most of my headache, and I'm actually feeling a lot better. I still have a fever of 100 though.

So thats the latest update on my health, not that its that important to anyone but me. I guess its good for my teachers to know, but since Mrs. West is the only one who reads this, I'll probably have to send out an email tomorrow to get assignments, ask for extensions, etc.

I hate being sick.

The Joys of Being Ill

SO I'm sick today. I wasn't feeling well most of this week, and today it was bad enough for me to leave school at noon. Basically I laid in bed for three hours and only slept for 45 minutes. It was a super fun time. But I guess it was better than stoichiometry in chem or indirect objects in Spanish.

Along with the plague, I have a severe case of writers block, and am really struggling to come up with an idea for my story. School is so frustrating! Well I guess I'll keep my eye on the prize and keep counting down until Greece. 10 DAYS!

All the Pretty Horses is done. I'm kind of glad because I don't always have to read at night, but I really did enjoy the book. I think that with any school book it becomes kind of a burden, reading to page X in one night, etc. I enjoy leisure reading more (who doesn't). I guess the ending of ATPH was a good one, because it leaves the reader wanting more, and with more questions than ever. I want to know what happens to John Grady and what he ends up doing with his life. Will he return to Alejandra and run off with her? Will he leave the U.S. - since he said himself that it 'isn't his country'? How does his relationship with his mother end up? What does Rawlins do?

These are questions that can't really be answered, only assumed. Oh well I'll get over it. Enough blogging for now, my headache is getting worse.

GREECE and Others...

I cannot believe that in almost 10 DAYS I'm going to be in Greece!! (see right) Along with not believing, I cannot wait. I need a break from school and all of the stresses that come along with it. Plus it is going to be so much fun.

Even though I'm going with the orchestra on a school field trip - with the orchestra, and it isn't as long as I'd like it to be, I'm not complaining because it is such an amazing opportunity. I'll be going with friends, and it'll be my first overseas trip.

Anyways, enough ranting about my SUPER EXCITING life [not really]. Its time to talk about All the Pretty Horses!

Overall, I am/have been enjoying this novel. I think that the story is interesting and compelling, and it was a pleasant surprise. I probably wouldn't have picked up this book at the library or at the book store, and after hearing that it was about cowboys/the wild west I wasn't all that optimistic about it.

It is very interesting to go over the character and setting development and changes throughout the novel. I liked coming up with the idea about the setting becoming familiar and safe, then to unfamiliar but still exciting, and at the end - so far - the setting became a little more familiar but dark and foreboding eg. being in the jail, losing Alejandra, etc. However, I don't enjoy the style and content in some parts. For example, while Alfonsa was talking for like ten pages I started to drift away from the story, and realize that I had just read an entire page but had no idea what was said. I don't think that its that big of a deal, because I understood the gist of the passage, but when reading a book you should read and comprehend it [for the most part]. Thats just my opinion and I'm kind of a hypocrite seeing as I don't do that half the time.

Thats all for now. Only 3 posts left!!

Final Important Quotes

SO these are my final important quotes for this book. I already have seven on the blog and I only need eight, but I'm sure I can find a few more than one. Maybe extra credit is in my future...

Anyways after this I guess I'll just blog about All the Pretty Horses and school and stuff...I guess. It probably won't be as interesting as the novels I've been writing though, since those are so intense.

Enough chit chat.

"'I can see we have our work cut out with you,' Raul said in a tight voice. 'I can see we have a nasty little aristocrat who needs to be educated about the will of the people!" Matt was amazed at the man's reaction." I believe this quote to be significant because now that Matt is in a new world, he has a new reason to be mistreated. Since the Keepers have no knowledge of him being a clone, they label him as an aristocrat - someone who thinks he is better than everyone else. In their world, which is very communistic, each person is equal, and those who have earned it [themselves] are allowed luxuries. I inferred, however, that being an aristocrat is nowhere near as vile as being a clone.

"The other boys were shouting and cheering. They surged forward, forming a ring around the Keeper and his two attackers. " (319) This quote is when the Lost Boys in the plankton factory revolt against the Keepers. The resurgence is led by Matt, and his true leadership qualities are shown in this part of the book. After this occurrence, Matt is deemed a hero by the other boys, and is seen as a threat by the Keepers.

"They were interrupted by a shriek. A girl in a white party dress streaked through the door and threw herself into Matt's arms. 'Oh, Mother! Oh, Mother! It's Matt! He's alive! He's here!'" (362)

I believe this quote is important because it shows the true feelings that Maria holds for Matt. Earlier in the novel she had said that she loved him and that she would 'probably go to hell for it'. Both the excitement in seeing him again, and saying that she would rather go to hell - a big undertaking for her religious family - that not love him shows her true feelings. One can only hope that she will begin to see Matt as a human being instead of a pet clone.

...well, that is a total of 10 quotes, so if one of them is unsatisfactory, I'll still have nine :] And this concludes the outside reading portion of blogs. Congratulations, David.

Circle Time

Hi, my name is David and I have something that I need to get out. I actually finished my outside reading book like two months ago...a week after it was assigned, and I've been blogging about it as if I don't know what is going to happen next.

There. So now, I'll just quickly summarize the rest of the book up in this post, discuss some important quotes in the next one, and then talk about ATPH for the last four blogs. Yay.

Okay, so a lot of stuff happens that shows how much people hate Matt, and its interesting if you're reading the book, but for the sake of time, I'm going to sum up the rest of the book fairly quickly:
After a near-fatal heart attack, El Patrón requires a heart transplant from Matt to himself, but is foiled when Matt's guardian, Celia, reveals that she has poisoned Matt with foxglove and arsenic, just enough that it would not kill the boy, but would kill El Patrón if he were to acquire Matt's heart. El Patrón dies, and Matt escapes the mansion in the ensuing chaos with the help of María. At this point in the book Maria and Matt confess that they love each other, though it is unclear whether Maria loves Matt romantically or simply as a pet. With the preparations that Tam Lin left for him, Matt manages to escape Opium to Aztlán, which was once Mexico. There, he comes across many events and places, such as a cruel environment for orphans. These orphans are called the Lost Boys, and Matt is sent to live with them. The "Keepers" operate plankton farms on the principles of communism, treating the orphans unfairly and irrationally. The boys are forced into labor, and demanded to eat "healthy and nutritious" plankton, even though all it does is give those who eat it terrible acne. The Keepers are allowed lavish quarters and delectable food, claiming that this is fair because they earned the right to do so by working hard during their childhood.

Matt is at first an outcast, and deemed an unwanted aristocrat by the Keepers. However, as his peers see that he is nothing of the sort, Matt is more accepted, and leads a rebellion against the Keepers making him a hero. Matt soon finds Maria after liberating the Lost Boys. After living in a convent with María and her mother, Matt learns from Esperanza [María's mother] that Opium is in a lockdown state. This means that nothing can enter or leave the country. The only way to end this state is with El Patrón's fingerprint and DNA. Matt's fingerprint is identical to the former drug lord's, and he is able to enter Opium. There, he finds Celia, his old piano teacher and Daft Donald. The bodyguard tells Matt that El Patron has had a funeral, and his family had gathered to celebrate his death, because they lived their lives in perpetual fear of him. They drank a special wine harvested in the year El Patrón was born, which turned out to be poisoned, killing everyone present except for Daft Donald, who had been guarding the place with Tam Lin. Tam Lin drank the wine as well, with knowledge of its poison, because he wanted to end his life, regretting all of the evil things he has done in the past [killing 20 children by accident with a poorly placed bomb that was actually meant for the English prime minister].

Esperanza leaves Matt with the impression that he can make a difference, and Matt is eager to start his new life as ruler of Opium. She offers him support as well as aid from both the United States and Aztlan, but only if he promises to destroy Opium. Matt agrees with this plan, ready to erase the pain from his past and revert all eejits back into capable humans.

Aaaand thats it.

More Important Things...Not Quotes

All righty here we (I?) go. Some important topics (vs quotes) are dealt with/revealed in the section I just summarized.

First of all, El Patrón's birthday party is another example of the power the old man still holds over pretty much everyone. Nobody likes Matt, most even hate him, but when he acts out, they can do nothing because challenging Matt means challenging El Patrón. If not for his 'father', Matt would have been dead ages ago.

As I said in the summary, the witnessing of another clone is a turning point for both Matt and the reader. So far, no other clones have been introduced, and so it is assumed that Matt is what they look like and behave. This could not be farther from the truth. In actuality, clones really are helpless, mindless bundles of organs - the reader finds out later that clones are created so if a transplant of any kind, heart, liver, etc. is needed, there is a perfect copy of the one needed at hand. With this in mind, the feelings and teachings held by the Alacrans and rest of the world are understood, but the way they treat Matt is in no way justified. He is smarter than most of them, and is a perfectly capable human. It made me feel even more for Matt because you understand what he could have been, and the thoughts running through his head must have been overwhelming.

The episode with the dog is simply another example of the cruelty of the Alacrans. They will do anything and go out of their way in order t o cause harm to Matt. Felicia killed the dog, and Mr. Alacran had Matt apprehended by force, and told him that he was never to see Maria again.

This is Tedious...

I forgot to mention a pretty important part of the story; Matt discovers the truth about eejits and the reality of what El Patron has done in his lifetime before the birthday party.

While taking a tour of the Opium farms with Tam Lin, Matt's Scottish bodyguard, Matt discovers a dead man on the ground. Tam Lin explains that the person is an eejit, a human with a computer chip implanted into his or her brain. Eejits are similar to mindless zombies and only obey voice commanded orders. If an eejit were told to stay it would stay at the same spot until it was told otherwise, even in the face of potentially deadly situations. Eejits are considered beasts of burden, and consist of illegal immigrants that tried to get across Opium to either Aztlán or the United States, as well as any of El Patrón's servants that had displeased him in any way. As Matt continues to grow up, it becomes very clear that despite El Patrón's favoritism, he is barely tolerated. Considered a beloved pet by some and a beastly intruder by others, he is kept ignorant of the nature of clones until a cruel joke reveals why he is different.

Long story short, the birthday party does end up being a disaster. Matt gets angry at Maria, and demands her to 'give him a birthday kiss' in front of all the birthday guests. Everyone is appalled at the fact that a lowly clone would even speak to a human girl like that. El Patron, on the other hand, is encouraging Matt, saying that he needs to stand up for himself and show who's boss. Matt immediately regrets his decision to humiliate Maria, and she doesn't talk to him for days.

The day after the party, we find that Felicia [Mr. Alacran's wife] and Tom have plotted against Matt, and trick him and Maria to go to the hospital near the house. There they find a clone on a table. But it isn't a clone like Matt, it is what a clone is supposed to be. It is described as a thing that "...rolled its eyes and thrashed helplessly in the straps that restrained it. Its mouth opened in a horrible O when it saw the children, and it screamed louder than Matt thought possible." (pg 119) This is Matt's first encounter with another clone, and the reader can now fully understand why clones are considered inferior. At the end of this chapter, Maria is too disgusted to be with Matt, and she leaves with Tom.

Maria is still angry at Matt for the episode at the birthday party, and Matt wants desperately to speak to her. He devises a plan to kidnap her dog and leave a ransom note in Maria's room. He thinks to himself that Maria would have to talk to him then. Maria's dog Furball is a tiny little rat-dog that is always yapping and running around. The only way for Matt to successfully steal the little dog is its asleep. [[in an effort to reduce the length of this post to a short novel, I'm going to skip some minor details and wrap up the story]] Matt steals some drugs from Felicia, gives the dog barely anything, and hides him. He leaves a note on Maria's pillow and waits. The dog is later found dead, and Matt doesn't see Maria before she leaves for boarding school. Years later, while the two are together, they overhear Felicia telling Tom how she killed Furball. Only then does Maria believe that Matt didn't kill her dog.

There is so much more story left, and these blogs are so annoying to keep up with!! More later.

Important Quotes #2

Here are some quotes that I think are important from the reading described in the previous post.

"Matt was so startled, he stopped crying. He realized something momentous had just happened. 'I can talk,' he murmured...'My name is Matteo Alacran," Matt said, testing his newly regained voice. 'I'm a good boy.' He felt dizzy with happiness. Celia was going to be so proud of him now! HE would read and color and count until he became the best student in the whole world, and the children would like him and they wouldn't run away." (pgs 73-74) This quote is important not only because it is when Matt discovers his speech again, but also because it shows that Matt strives to be normal. He is fed up, even at an early age, of being a clone, something inferior to the other children. What little respect he gets is because of El Patron. He wants to use his superior smarts to excel and become normal.

"The scene on the other side was completely unexpected. Creosote bushes and paloverde trees framed a small, narrow valley, and in the center of this was a pool of water. At the far end Matt saw an enormous grapevine sprawled over a man-made trellis." (pg 79) This is a description of the oasis as Matt sees it for the first time. It is an important even in the book because the oasis becomes a refuge for Matt, and it is one of the only places he feels at home and safe, the other place being Celia's apartment.

"He was in a rage to learn. He would excel, and then everyone would love him and forget he was a clone." (pg 91) This is more proof that education and knowledge is the only way Matt sees himself being loved. Without his smarts, he would have no hope that he would someday be accepted.

House of the Scorpion Madness!!

Well I am really lovin' this book. The only reason I put it down is because I only read at night, and it gets too late for me to keep my eyes open. So lets see, I think I'll just make a list of what happened so far since my last post. Oh and just to clarify, Tom and Maria are not siblings. Maria is the daughter of a powerful American senator, and Tom is the son of Mr. Alacran, who is El Patron's great-great grandson.

So, I left off where Matt had just gotten out of the basement and was safe back with Celia. Here's what happened since:

• Matt "avoid[s] leaving the safe haven of Celia's apartment for as long as possible." He is unable to speak for a very long time after he leaves the basement, and it is the mission of Celia and Maria to make him talk again.
• Maria and her sister Emilia have left for school, and Tom and his brother Steven left for boarding school soon after them. Matt is the lone 'child' (clones aren't considered children) in the Big House, and El Patron arranges to have him educated. One day Matt is introduced to Teacher. Teacher is very robotic, and Matt learns that she is an eejit. An eejit is a person with a computer chip in their brain. The chip takes away all feelings and emotions, and they can only obey orders. They look like normal people, yet they are just zombies that serve as servants.
• Matt explodes at Teacher, and finds that he actually yelled at her. He enjoys his newfound speech, and talks as much as he can the next few days.
• Tam Lin - who is the only person aside from Celia who speaks to him as a real person - takes Matt for a picnic. They traveled on Safe Horses (horses that are eejits, they stop when told to stop and only drink when commanded). They ride through the desert until Tam Lin stops at a rock with a hole in the middle of it. They enter to find a land with trees and a small pool in the center. Tam Lin explains that it is called an oasis. The oasis becomes a refuge for Matt, as Tam Lin is the only other person who knows about it.
• Felicia, Mr. Alacran's wife, is a frail woman who suffered from a nervous breakdown. She plays the piano every day, and one day is late for her session. Since Matt watches and listens to her play every day, he notices that she is late and begins to experiment with the piano. He hears her approaching and hides in the closet. He discovers that in the back of the closet there is a secret passageway that winds through the house, with peepholes that look into every room. The passageway is another secret that is shared between Matt and Tam Lin, and later Maria.
• Matt wants desperately to learn the piano. He believes that he would excel, and "then everyone would love him and forget he was a clone." El Patron gets Matt a teacher, and he learns to play very quickly. Matt is soon an amazing pianist.
• Maria loses her dog Furball. Tom is in the room and helps the two look for it, but he isn't really looking. Matt notices that he is going through the actions but not actually searching. Matt knows that Tom isn't fond of the dog, and believes that he has something to do with it's disappearance. Matt finds the dog in the toilet, and Tom is visibly upset.
• El Patron's birthday party is what closes the chapter. All sorts of rich, influential people show up, and Matt loves it, because it had developed into a celebration for him as well. Celia, Tam Lin, Maria, and El Patron are the only ones who really celebrate him, but everybody else has to grit their teeth and get through the day.
• The chapter ends with a break before dinner, and you can already tell that something bad is going to happen..

So that was my super long, probably boring list of events. Its much more interesting to actually read the book, obviously. Quotes will come later.

Significant Quotes #1

Okay so here are some significant quotes from the reading I described in my last post:

"The door handle rattled. Matt squatted on the floor, his heart pounding. Someone put his face against the window, cupping his hands to see through the gloom. Matt froze. He had wanted company, but this was happening too quickly. He felt like Pedro el Conejo in Senor MacGregor's garden." (pg 9) This quote is when Matt is still living in Celia's little home in the poppy fields. It is the beginning of Matt's long adventure. It is after this that he jumps out the window and the children bring him to the Big House. If not for this event, the story would not take place.

"The man leaned forward and whispered into her [Rosa's] ear. A look of horror crossed Rosa''s face. She instantly scooped up Matt and ran...Rosa hurried down the steps and dumped Matt roughly onto the lawn. Without a word, she turned and fled back to the house." (pg 24) This quote is the first time that the reader discovers that Matt is different. Rosa is the maid that essentially tortures Matt for three years, leaving him in solitary confinement in the basement of El Patron's house. In this scene, the children bring Matt to the house, and Rosa is treating his wounds when the man whispers something to her, and she throws him out.

"'Matt's a clone," said Steven. Emilia gasped. 'He can't be! He doesn't - I've seen clones. They're horrible! They drool and mess their pants. They make animal noises.' 'This one's different. Benito told me. Technicians are supposed to destroy the minds at birth - it's the law. But El Patron wanted his to grow up like a real boy. He's so rich, he can break any law he wants.'" The children go on talking about clones and how disgusting they are. This kind of sets the scene for the whole book, and is an introduction to why Matt is treated like he is. He is an animal, but he must be respected because he is property of El Patron, and the old man loves him. Anyone who touches Matt would be in serious trouble.

"Matt smiled. He likes El Patron instinctively. There was something so right about the way the old man looked. His eyes were a good color. Matt didn't know why it was s good, only that it was." In this scene, Matt first meets El Patron. El Patron is one of the only people Matt knows who actually likes him, and when the old man's health begins to decline, Matt is constantly at his side. This is the beginning of a very strange relationship, because there is a love between the two, but El Patron still views Matt as a clone, not a human.

New Book!

So my new outside reading book is called The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer. Apparently its the 7th grade outside reading book now, so that really boosts my self confidence in terms of reading level...but those are enriched students, so they're smart. Right?

Anyways, the book so far is really good. Its about Matt, a young boy growing up in Opium, a small strip of land between the United States and Mexico. The story takes place in the future, and the small strip of land between the two countries was established to stop the flow of illegal immigrants going both ways across the border. Matt is a clone, created from a piece of skin from the drug lord El Patrón. El Patrón is 140-something years old, and is one of the only people on earth who loves Matt.

In the future established by this book, clones are seen and treated as animals, and Matt is no exception. For example, Matt leaves his house in a field for the first time when he is six years old, to play with the kids that find his house. He jumps out the window and lands on glass. The children take him to the Big House (where El Patrón and the other servants live). One of the maids, Rosa, immediately begins to pluck the glass out of his foot, trying to help him. The father of the children comes in the room and sees Matt, and announces that he is a clone. As soon as she hears, Rosa backs away from Matt like he is on fire, and leaves the room. Matt is thrown out of the house and left there until he is taken to a room in the basement of the Big House, where he is kept and treated like an animal for three years.

Where I am in the book now, which is not very far, Matt has been saved from his prison in the basement, and is living with his original caregiver, Celia in her apartment. Celia is the head cook for the household, and loves Matt more than anything, affectionately calling him "mi vida", or "my life". Matt is given a bodyguard, Tam Lin, by El Patrón, and lives with him as well. Tam Lin and Matt have a relationship of mutual liking. Tam Lin still sees Matt as a clone, but he treats him like a human, and is kind to him.

Other important characters so far are Tom and Maria. I can't really tell if they are siblings, although I don't believe they are. Tom and Matt hate each other, and are cruel together. Glaring contests are the favorite activity of these two enemies. Maria is the fourth person who actually likes Matt. She first met Matt when he jumped out of the window three or four years earlier. The two have an interesting relationship. Maria looks down upon Matt for being a clone [it is what she has been taught], but she still enjoys his company and likes talking with him. They have a funny relationship, Maria is the only person Matt doesn't mind making fun of him, because he knows she doesn't know any better, and I think that he fancies her.

That is the summary/introduction of/to my book so far. I'm enjoying it, and I guess I'll keep you posted (in order to get my 14 posts in).

Interesting Quotes from Water for Elephants!

Okay, so I need some interesting/important quotes in my blog, so here are the ones that I found:

"'You were with the Benzini Brothers? What years?'...'You were there for the stampede?' 'Sure was!' I exclaim...'That's probably the most famous circus disaster of all time.'"

I thought that this quote was interesting because a chapter back, the stampede was described. I felt like I was at the disaster, and I was a part of history [cheesy, I know] It was a very interesting twist, and I really enjoyed it.

"I reach for the napkin, and as I do I catch sight of my hands. They are knobby and crooked, think-skinned, and - like my ruined face - covered with liver spots. My face. I push the porridge aside and open my vanity mirror. I should know better by now, but somehow I still expect to see myself. Instead, I find an Appalachian apple doll, withered and spotty, with dewlaps and bags and long floppy ears. A few strands of white hair spring absurdly from its spotted skull."

This quote is one of many depressing ones said by Jacob in the nursing home. It really shows the fact that he is not comfortable with getting older, and being cooped up in his building really depresses him. He is used to the circus life, being surrounded by people and activity, and now he has to sit in his wheelchair and eat - according to him - disgusting hospital food. Another part in the book that really shows the magnitude to which he misses the 'outside world' is when one of the nurses gives him and apple, and he cries when he tastes it because it has been so long since he has had real food.

Sundays SUCK

Especially this Sunday because its the last day of break, and I have this ridiculous Top Ten list that I have to write for English. poop. The only thing I have to look forward to tonight is the Amazing Race, and that's at 7 pm. I have 3 hours and 15 minutes to worry about school and finals and top ten lists and play practice. Ahh this sucks.

So anyways, I finished Fanboy and Gothgirl a few days ago, and it was overall a good book...I was pleasantly surprised. I was also unexpectedly pleased with the ending. I was predicting that the book would finish with everybody unhappy, but it turns out that only Kyra/Gothgirl turns out bad. To sum up the main points, Cal and Fanboy end their feud and become friends again, and Fanboy finally accepts that his mom is pregnant and he is going to have a little sister. At last, he starts to accept his situation at home. The step-fascist is now Tony, and his mom is no longer the nagging, hormonal tyrant.

I would recommend this book if you have spare time and want a reasonably easy read. This book is enjoyable, but its not the best I've ever read.