Saturday, August 16, 2008
Summer reading fun
As you are relaxing on the beach, traveling around the globe, working in the sun, or hanging out at home, I trust you picked up a book or two or three. The school year will be jump started by our class' assigned summer reading book - The Alchemist. All classes should be ready to discuss these books and feel good about a little upcoming in-class writing assignment. You can show off to me all your knowledge about the book and its message, as well as your writing skills. But that's not all! The two free choice books warrant discussion as well and you will be using some technology for that. If you are thinking this blog, you're right! But that's just for one of your books, for the other one you'll be reflecting in the form of a podcast. You'll record your own voice reading an important passage of your own choosing with analysis and music. A great way to start the year!
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the other book that i read was My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Pitcult. I really enjoyed this book because it talked about the lengths a girl will go through to save her sisters life. But where and when should the line be drawn? That's what Anna struggles to figure out through out the book. She loves her sister but doesn't like the idea that she was only consumed to help her. so she fights back and try's to regain her rights as a human being. what i found most interesting about the book was that the audience could see it from every characters point of view. it made it a more well rounded book because you could really get inside the heads of the other characters instead of seeing one side like what most books are like.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
“She was on the opposite side, standing against the sidewall, calm as a summer day. Her sequins flashed like liquid diamonds, a shimmering beacon between the multicolored hides. She saw me, too, and held my gaze for what seemed like forever. She was cool, languid. Smiling even. I started to push my way toward her, but something about her expression stopped me cold.” 4
This excerpt from Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a very good example of descriptive writing. The excerpt is describing an elephant in a circus, though the reader doesn’t find out it’s an elephant for a while. At this time all the animals have been let out and there is chaos in the tent. Through the simile “calm as a summer day” you picture something peaceful not a chaotic stampede of circus animals. But that’s what Rosie, the elephant, was to the main character Jacob; she and her rider Marlena made him “calm as a summer day”. In fact they were the only reason he stayed with that circus for so long when he probably could have found another job. In this excerpt you see Rosie was a “shimmering beacon”, meaning she was important to Jacob. Through Gruen’s description of Rosie in the stampede, Gruen foreshadowed what Rosie and her rider would mean to Jacob in the book. This relationship of Rosie, Marlena, and Jacob is extremely intriguing making this book impossible to put down.
“The police superintendent-a member of our congregation – is waiting on the platform in street clothes. He greets me with an awkward nod and stiff handshake. Almost as an afterthought, he pulls me into a violent embrace. He pats my back loudly and expels me with a shove and a sniff. Then he drives me to the hospital in his own car, a two-year-old Phaeton that must have cost the earth. So many things people would have done differently had they known what would happen that fateful October.” 17
In this excerpt from Water for Elephants, Jacob, the main character, gets picked up at his college by the police superintendent to identify the bodies of his parents at the local hospital. I chose this passage because it describes the discomfort of two people faced with death. It describes the policeman as an indecisive man. He can’t decide what to do when he greets Jacob. To pat someone’s back “loudly” has an uncomfortable connotation. People don’t want to be noticed in when they are being hugged, making a loud pat awkward and strange. It is no coincident that it is the police superintendent, a man who is always supposed to know what to do. This excerpt shows when faced with death nobody knows how to act. It’s a life changing experience. As the author said people would have changed had they know what would happen to Jacob’s parents. One of the main themes of the book is change and how Jacob handles the many changes he faces from the death of his parents until the end of his life. Through out the book Jacob will go through changes from death, to his job, to his age, and to his lover. The theme of change is one everyone can relate to making this novel a great read.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
"I can well imagine an atheist’s last words: “White, white! L-L-Love! My God!”–and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeast-less factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, “Possibly a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain,” and, to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story."
Pg. 64
This passage which relates the differing interpretations of death by the atheist and agnostic can be tied directly to the message Yann Martel is trying to convey in his novel. The atheist, a man who believes in no religion, sees this white light and believes he is seeing God. On the other hand, the agnostic, a person who only will believe in God if there is factual evidence to prove it, explains the phenomenon using only scientific information. By doing so, the agnostic is missing “the better story”. The author is suggesting that a life of imagination and faith, while not necessarily grounded on verifiable facts, is better than a life based on only that which is tangible and provable. While the atheist’s last moments of life are filled with pure contentment, the agnostic’s are bleak and joyless. The plot of Life of Pi is a metaphor for this notion. At the end of the novel, Pi recounts two stories of his miraculous survival, one which includes wild animals and a second one in which his mother is gruesomely killed and then he, in turn, kills and eats the murderer. The false “better story” involving animals helps Pi retain his sanity rather than deal with the horrendous truth of what he had to do to survive. The writing in this passage is also superb as Martel uses thought-provoking phrases like “yeast-less factuality”. The author is trying to convey to the reader how plain and flat life would be without imagination. With imagination and “the better story,” however, life can grow into delicious baked bread. In addition, the statements made by the two men as they are about to die helps to set the scene. The stuttering of words such as “f-f-failing,” “l-l-love,” and “b-b-brain” generate the sensation that their minds are about to expire.
"The worst pair of opposites is boredom and terror. Sometimes your life is a pendulum swing from one to the other. The sea is without a wrinkle. There is not a whisper of wind. The hours last forever. You are so bored you sink into a state of apathy close to a coma. Then the sea becomes rough and your emotions are whipped into a frenzy. Yet even these two opposites do not remain distinct. In your boredom there are elements of terror: you break down into tears; you are filled with dread; you scream; you deliberately hurt yourself. And in the grip of terror-the worst storm-you yet feel boredom, a deep weariness with it all."
Pg. 217
This passage is filled with vivid adjectives which evoke deep feelings of pity for Pi, the protagonist. The simile of how Pi can switch between boredom and dread as quickly as a pendulum is a prime example of descriptive writing. The phrase “you sink into a state of apathy close to a coma” generates a snapshot of Pi floating in a comatose condition in the middle of a calm sea. Also, the series of short but descriptive sentences add to the fluidity of the passage. The author manages to describe the horrific life of a survivor shipwrecked at sea and how numbing an experience it can become. Pi now only has two emotions, fear and boredom, that can switch at a moment’s notice. Eventually, even these two feelings begin to blend together. This passage reveals how a solitary existence can lead one to madness. The author manages to set a tone for the entire paragraph, a tone of sympathy for Pi. As the reader learns of Pi’s crying, screaming, and self-inflicted pain, one can not help but want to reach out to him.
Page 70, Bottom
“I cut my finger while I was chopping carrots. It wasn’t a big cut but it bled a lot, and the Ban-Aid didn’t stop the bleeding. It kept bleeding through the pad, so I kept putting on new Band-Aids. It was frustrating.
Dinner was late and the kids were cranky. Eric complained loudly that my chicken fingers were gross the McDonald’s were way better, and why couldn’t he have those? Nicole tried out various line readings for her play, while Eric mimicked her under his breath. The baby spit up every mouthful of her cereal until I stopped and mixed it with some mashed banana.”
Instead of using descriptive words to show the family, Crichton uses a subtle style of writing to show dismay. This turn of events becomes very frustrating for the reader because they put themselves in the shoes of Jack (the narrator). No stereotypes are used here, making the passage easily pictured and understood. This follows perfectly with a theme of the book (there are always errors) because earlier, Jack thinks that he can give them this dinner with no [more] problems, but has his cooked meal spat back at him by his kids.
Page 337, Bottom
“And then in a rush Julia literally disintegrated before my eyes. The skin of her swollen face and body blew away from her in streams of particles, like sand blown off a sand dune. The particles curved away in the arc of the magnetic field toward the sides of the room.
I felt her body growing lighter and lighter in my arms. Still the particles continued to flow away, with a kind of whooshing sound, to all corners of the room. And when it was finished, what was left behind – what I still held in my arms – was a pale and cadaverous form. Julia’s eyes were sunk deep in her cheeks. Her mouth was thin and cracked, her skin was translucent. Her hair was colorless, brittle. Her collarbones protruded from her bony neck. She looked like she was dying of cancer.”
Unlike the last excerpt, this one uses powerful similes and metaphors to convey the scene. Rare words like cadaverous, translucent, and brittle are used to describe the setting Jack finds himself in, to spice up the reader’s views and vocabulary. The passage paints a vivid picture of the evil Julia, being stripped down literally to her bare, original decaying form. Because Julia was Jack’s wife, the passage has a sickening dread to it once the reader finally finds out how Julia has really turned out. Another theme that can go with this is that things are not as they seem, in this case and many other cases in the book.
Rainbow 6 - Tom Clancy
It wasn’t quite that easy for Tim O’Neil. The idea of imprisonment in a cage with common criminals, having his family come to visit him there like an animal in a zoo, gave him chills… but he’d known that this was a possibility for years, and though he preferred the mental image of heroic death, a blazing gun in his hand firing at the enemies of his country, this American doctor had spoken the truth. There was no glory in murdering six English civilians. No songs would be written and sung about this exploit, no pints hoisted to his name in the pubs of Ulster… and what was left to him was inglorious death… life, in prison or not, was preferable to that sort of death. – Clancy 534
This passage may be the best example of descriptive writing in Tom Clancy’s entire novel Rainbow 6. The first sentence sets the mood, as Tim looked into the “dark, Spanish eyes” of Domingo Chavez. Clancy then continues to describe Chavez’s rage, using words like “hot” and “passionate” to amplify it (with good reason, his wife had just been attacked.) It is very easy to picture Chavez’s rage based on the description, making the reader more connected and involved with the book. This passage, along with the following paragraphs, illustrates the lengths Chavez would go to to protect his wife, and also his vulnerability. His family gives him a weakness, something his enemies could exploit and use against him. It almost caused him to kill a prisoner, which would have forced him to lose his job. It was another challenge for him, one of the many he and his team faced throughout the book, and one of the many he needed to overcome in order to succeed.
O’Neil blinked, as he looked deep into the dark, Spanish eyes. He saw the rage there, hot and passionate4 – but as bad as that was, so was the reason for it. He and his mates had planned to kidnap and maybe kill a pregnant woman, and there was shame in that, and for that reason there was justice din the fury before his face. – Clancy 544
In this passage, Clancy does a phenomenal job of revealing Tim O’Neil’s thoughts, his desperation, and his fear. Tim isn’t afraid of death, but pictured himself dying “a heroic death… firing at the enemies of his country.” The image also had him holding a “blazing gun,” portraying him as a military hero. His idea sharply contrasts his current situation, a writing tool that creates a very interesting passage. Instead of dying for his country, he could die for shooting six English civilians, a death with no honor, where “no songs would be written and sung about the exploit.” This passage reflects the main theme of the book – that appearances aren’t always what they seem, because of the purpose of the mission. Although it appeared that John Clark and Domingo Chavez’s (the protagonists) wives were the targets, that wasn’t the case. The point of the operation was to draw out the Rainbow soldiers so they could be ambushed. In the rest of the book, all the other terrorist attacks were originally perceived as random occurrences, when they were actually very organized. They were all meant to mask the true plot: kill virtually the entire world population.
“ ‘Not quite, my friend. There are the significant words uttered by Miss Arundell when she was delirious--something about Bob's ball and a 'picture ajar. You see the point, do you not?’ ‘Not in the least.’ ‘Curious. I know your language well enough to realize that one does not talk of a picture being ajar. A door is ajar. A picture is awry.’ ‘Or simply crooked.’ ‘Or simply crooked, as you say. So I realized at once that Ellen has mistaken the meaning of the words she heard. It is not ajar--but a or the jar that was meant. Now in the drawing-room there is a rather noticeable china jar. There is, I have already observed, a picture of a dog on it. With the remembrance of these delirious ravings in my mind I go up and examine it more closely. I find that it deals with the subject of a dog who has been out all night. You see the trend of the feverish woman's thoughts?’” (23)
I chose this passage because it shows Poirot’s logical brilliance. While Hastings does not notice the strange things that happened to Miss Ardunal, They are obvious to Poirot. For example Poirot easily notices that The victim states that the picture is ajar while a picture can not be ajar, this means that the victim was referring to the picture on the Jar. This would suggest that the victim died because of an accident with the dog’s ball, but because the dog was outside the entire night she must have been murdered. And while it may seem blatantly obvious right now, it is only because Poirot is excellent at explaining such twisted situations. Because of Poirot’s amazing logical reasoning he was able to crack this case like an acorn.
“ ‘But if in the glass she had seen the initials T.A.--then the real initials must have been A. T., since the glass naturally reversed the order. ‘Of course! Mrs. Tanios's mother was Arabella Arundell. Bella is only a contraction. A. T. stood for Arabella Tanios. There was nothing odd in Mrs. Tanios possessing a similar type of brooch. It had been exclusive last Christmas, but by the spring they were all the rage, and I had already observed that Mrs. Tanios copied her cousin Theresa's hats and clothes as far as she was able with her limited means. ‘In my own mind, at any rate, my case was proved. ‘Now--what was I to do? Obtain a Home Office order for the exhumation of the body? That could doubtless be managed. I might prove that Miss Arundell had been poisoned with phosphorus, though there was a little doubt about that. The body had been buried two months, and I understand that there have been cases of phosphorus poisoning where no lesions have been found and where the post mortem appearances are very indecisive. Even then, could I connect Mrs. Tanios with the purchase or possession of phosphorus? Very doubtful, since she had probably obtained it abroad. ‘At this juncture Mrs. Tanios took a decisive action. She left her husband 5 throwing herself on the pity of Miss Lawson. She also definitely accused her husband of the murder. ‘Unless I acted I felt convinced that he would be her next victim. I took steps to isolate them one from the other on the pretext that it was for her safety. She could not very well contradict that. Really, it was his safety I had in mind. And then--and then--" He paused--a long pause. His face had gone rather white. ‘But that was only a temporary measure. I had to make sure that the killer would kill no more. I had to assure the safety of the innocent. ‘So I wrote out my construction of the case and gave it to Mrs. Tanios.’ There was a long silence. Dr. Tanios cried out: ‘Oh, my God, so that's why she killed herself.’ Poirot said gently: ‘Was it not the best way? She thought so.’ ” (167)
I chose this excerpt because to me it is the most interesting part of the book, it is the part where Poiroit explains his simple but genius thinking. While the idea of letters being backwards on a cup I simple I doubt that I would have thought about it or noticed it. Also, Poirot is shown as a hertless calculating machine, because while others grief over death, he does not concern himself with it. This makes the reader less sympathetic to Poirot who now seems more machine then humane.
page 78
" Buck did not attack, but circled him about and hedged him in with friendly advances. the wolf was suspicious and afraid; for Buck made three of him in weight, while his head barely reached Bucks's shoulder. watching his chance, he darted away, and the chase was resumed. time and again he was cornered, and the thing repeated, though he was poor in condition, or Buck could not so easily have overtaken him. He would run till Buck's head was even with his flank, when he would whirl around at bay, only to dash away again at the first opportunity."
I believe that this is a very good excerpt because it showed me how Buck, a dog from california pressed into becoming a sled dog for more than three years, is so similar to this wild wolf. one of the themes of this book is that even though dogs are domesticated, they still have their primal instincts. the first cold night Buck was supposed to sleep outside in the snow. while he looked around for the other dogs he stepped on one of the dogs. this gave buck the idea to make a snow bed to sleep in. none of the dogs told him how to do it he just knew.
Excerpt 2
Page 72-73
" Thorton's command cracked out like a pistol-shot. Buck threw himself forward, tightening the traces with a jarring lunge. his whole body was gathered compactly together in the tremendous effort, the muscles writhing and knotting like live things under silk fur. His great chest was low to the ground, his head forward and down, while his feet were flying like mad, the claws scarring the hard-packed snow in parallel grooves. the sled swayed and trembled, half-started forward. one of his feet slipped, and one man groaned aloud. Then the sled lurched ahead in what appeared a rapid succession of jerks, though it never really came to a dead stop again... half an inch... an inch... two inches... The jerks perceptibly diminished; as the sled gained momentum, he caught them up, till it was moving steadily along."
This excerpt described buck hauling a sled that weighed a half ton. for a dog who has spent his past three years pulling sleds this is an achievment. When Thorton shouts "mush" it isn't just a plain mush,it is said as loud as a pistol shot. the line " his whole body was gathered compactly together in the tremendous effort, the muscles writhing and knotting" this describes the activity of Bucks muscles. as he pulls forward he builds up power and energy waiting for the right moment to release it. another one of the books themes is to never underestimate the power of dogs. once dogs have relearned their primal instincts it is hard to go back. Buck is a wonder dog.
Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks
“…the first thing I saw when I woke up was the sunlight streaming in through the windows and then I saw all these incredible plants in cans and jars and wooden tubs and old barrels. They were set all over the bus wherever the sun could hit them, on boards and bus seats and plastic boxes and hanging from the ceiling by wires, even on the driver’s seat up front and the dashboard and it was like I was waking up in this beautiful tropical garden…”
Pg. 158
This excerpt is a good example of descriptive writing because the author captures the overall ‘greenhouse’ effect of Bone (the main character)’s new home; an old broken- down school bus. Reading this passage in the book, painted such a clear picture in my mind, and it was so well- described, that it was almost as if I were there. I chose this passage in the book because it ties in with the theme of nature which is seen throughout the book. Nature plays a huge role in this book, because it is something that Bone always thinks about; he takes note to and appreciates the tiniest bits of detail in nature, which contradicts his tough outer appearance. To be waking up in a beautiful “tropical” garden shows the reader that the school bus is almost like a jungle, rather than just a plain old garden. The author also explains the un- organized and almost wild plants, which also supports the idea that the bus is untamed like a jungle.
“I felt like a newborn baby. Sunlight was splashing through the windows and I was warm and dry and there was music playing, reggae music, this light bouncy sweet tune with the words, Hey, Mister Yesterday, what are you doing today? It was so different from the music that I’d heard on the bridge which I now realized was evil and weird and probably sent from Satan like you’re supposed to hear when you play heavy metal backwards that I became at that moment like a complete convert to reggae. It filled my head with light and for the first time I could remember I was happy to be alive.”
Pg. 233
This excerpt is a good example of descriptive writing because it is written in the exact way that a teenager would say it. The author uses such words as “warm” and “dry”, which make the setting very comfortable and almost cozy for the reader. The words “light”, “bouncy”, and “sweet” also give off the feel that Bone is having a great time. This passage, (similar to the previous one) supports the theme of nature throughout this book, but is also an important turning point for the main character. Bone realizes that he is happy, and also begins to realize that the world isn’t such a bad place. The author also writes in Bone’s teenage language which makes this whole book so much more believable. This passage clearly shows that Bone rambles on in long run- on sentences, and has a good sense of humor, and through all of these things you understand the world from his point of view.
Cam O’Leary
Period 5
Childhoods End by Arthur C. Clarke
Analysis
“It was a tribute to the Overlords’ psychology, and to their careful years of preparation, that only a few people fainted. Yet there could have been fewer still, anywhere in the world, who did not feel the ancient terror brush for one awful instant against their minds before reason banished it forever.
There was no mistake. The leathery wings, the little horns, the barbed tail-all were there. The most terrible of all legends had come to life, out of the unknown past. Yet now it stood smiling, in ebon majesty, with the sunlight gleaming upon its tremendous body, and with a human child resting trustfully on either arm.” Pg 65
In this paragraph Arthur C. Clarke did a great job of describing the appearance of the Overlords. The first sentence gave me an idea of what they looked like, in which he describes their leathery wings, little horns, and barbed tail. The Overlords were creatures that came from another galaxy, they knew advanced science, and with the science they ruled earth and for many years made it a happier and better place. When they first arrived to earth, they refused to show their identity because they knew many humans would refuse to be ruled by such a unique creature. They promised that in fifty years they would show themselves, and this was the first time they showed themselves to a human. Clarke set the scene by describing the Overlords psychology, which was clever because the Overlords were clever enough to wait fifty years until a new generation of humans were around who were already comfortable with Overlords.
“The Last Man! Jan found it very hard to think of himself as that. When he had gone into space, he had accepted the possibility of external exile from the human race, and loneliness had not yet come upon him. As the years passed, the longing to see another human being might rise and overwhelm him, but for the present, the company of the Overlords prevented him from feeling utterly alone.
There had been men on Earth as little as ten years ago, but they had been degenerate survivors and Jan had lost nothing by missing them. For reasons which the Overlords could not explain, but which Jan suspected were largely physiological, there had been no children to replace those who had gone. Homo sapiens was extinct.” Pg 204
I thought this was one of Clarke’s best paragraphs. It described Jan’s shock of what had happened when he was in space. Clarke described that Jan suspected there would be a number of changes on earth, but none too this extent. In the book, Jan had been the first human ever to travel to the Overlords planet. In his life only a few months had passed dew to space travel and the light-years, but on earth eighty years had passed. He was coming back and didn’t no what to expect, but upon his return he learned that the children of the humans he knew had evolved into a different, more powerful species, while the human race had died out. Clarke set the scene extremely well, by exclaiming Jan’s shock that he was the last human.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
“Buck was truly a red-eyed devil, as he drew himself together for the spring, hair bristling, mouth foaming, a mad glitter in his blood-shot eyes. Straight at the human he launched his one hundred and forty pounds of fur, surcharged with the pent of passion of two days and nights (27).”
This is a good example of descriptive writing because London does an excellent job of describing Buck’s physical appearance. He also captures the anger of the dog by using words like mouth foaming and red-eyed devil. London uses colors such as red to describe the blood-shot eyes of Buck. He also uses hyperboles to explain the attack. This passage ties into the theme of the book because this is how Buck became captured, and later turned into a sled dog.
“Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tidewater dog, strong of muscle and with warm long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. Because men, groping in the arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the northland. These men wanted dogs, and the dogs they wanted were heavy dogs, with strong muscles by which to toil, and furry coats to protect them from the frost (1).”
This is a good example of descriptive writing because it introduces Buck, the main character, and it hints at the plot. This passage is also a good example of descriptive writing because it uses figurative language such as personification in the first sentence and a hyperbole when it explains how the companies were booming to find gold. The author sets the scene by using words like trouble and brewing. These words give the audience the feeling that Buck is in danger.
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan doyle
“A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame.” Page 156
This excerpt from The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is an excellent example of descriptive writing. This excerpt is describing the hound that is terrorizing everyone in the area by making it seem the legend had come to life. In this section of the book Sherlock Holmes, Watson as well as their friend Lestrade is waiting for the appearance of the hound in a thick fog. The author set the scene well because they had only the legend of the hound to base the real hound’s appearance on. He describe the hound as a monster saying it was a hound as mortal eyes have even seen, and that it could breath fire. You would think this was a demon more than a dog. Through his description of the hound you can easily visualize what it look like. “Coal-black hound” meaning that the beast had dark black fur/hair, “eyes glowed with a smouldering glare” says that its eyes were fierce and look like it had a fire in its eyes. The author used many words related to fire, “coal, glowed, smouldering, flame” to describe the hound giving it a sense of danger. This passage ties in with the theme of the book because they were trying to figure out what killed Sir Charles and it finally made its appearance.
“To this post a figure was tied, so swathed and muffled in sheets which had been used to secure it that one could not for the moment tell weather it was that of a man or woman. One towel passed round the throat, and was secured at the back of the pillar. Another covered the lower fart of the face and over it two dark eyes – eyes full of grief and shame and a dreadful questioning – stared back at us.” Page 159
This excerpt from The Hound of the Baskervilles shows the way Mrs. Stapleton was held prisoner at the time of the attempted murder. This excerpt was a particularly good example of descriptive writing because it didn’t just say she was tied up. It described every detail of how she was tied up as well as the room she was in. She was “swathed and muffled in sheets” saying she was wrapped around in sheets and prevented to make a sound as to what Mr. Stapleton was going to do. He even described how well she was swathed; one could not tell weather it was a man or woman. This implies she was covered under many layers of sheets if it couldn’t show the difference of gender. This ties to the book because it showed that she was only a tool for Mr. Stapleton to use to gain wealth as well as show Mr. Stapleton’s true character. It shows he is not as innocent as he appears to be. This book was excellent to read and was filled with twist and turns that you couldn’t tell what would happen next.
Analysis:
Its Not About the Bike My Journey Back to Life By Lance Armstrong
“I understood that now. There was no shortcuts, I realized. It took years of racing to build up the mind and body and character, until a rider had logged hundreds of races and thousands of miles of road. I wouldn’t be able to win the Tour De France until I had enough iron in my legs, and lungs, and heart. Until I was a man…”(Armstrong 69)
This excerpt from Lance Armstrong’s book is particularly good example of descriptive writing because it shows and tells everyone in the book that he was thinking at the time and puts into words that people reading it could live by. This excerpt does not only show us a good moral but it also ties it to the one of the main themes of the book that you have to give 100% 100% of the time or it wont be good enough to win. Some of the real keywords in this passage are shortcuts and man. These two words are particularly important because it really shows how deeply he felt about what he had to do at the time.
“Only one person seemed to think I was capable of it. Shortly before the race began, someone asked Miguel Indurain who he thought had a good chance at winning. Maybe he remembered our conversation in the elevator and knew how I trained. “Armstrong” was his answer.” (Armstrong 224)
In this excerpt the writing is overall descriptive. It doesn’t have similes or metaphors or any alliteration. But the thing that it does have is a narrative voice that comes out and grasps the reader in my opinion. This passage ties into a different theme, the one that if you try your hardest things will happen for you. The words that makes this passage good is capable and winning because it just ties into everything this book is about.
Kelly G
Period 3
Page 1
Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have know that trouble was brewing not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. Because men, groping in the arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of the men were rushing into the Northland. These men wanted dogs, and the dogs they wanted were heavy dogs, with strong muscles by which to toil and furry coats to protect themselves from the frost.
This excerpt is a good example of descriptive writing because it opens the book up to the reader with a point a view of someone who is not human and doesn’t understand the wants of humans. It shows the reader that the main character of this book is not interested in material things like gold which is why it is referred to as “yellow metal.” It ties into one of the main themes of this book which is that everything is part of nature and that people focus on material things like gold instead of focusing on the real treasure of life. Through out the book this point is made over and over again when people continuously over work the dogs so that they can gold.
Page 47
He was mastered by the sheer surging of life, the tidal wave of being, the perfect joy of each separate muscle, joint, and sinew in that it was everything that was not death, that it was aglow and rampant, expressing itself in movement, flying exultantly under the stars and over the face of dead matter that did not move.
This excerpt is a good example of descriptive writing because it paints a picture of how life should feel. It makes the reader feel excited about life. It describes the feeling of complete happiness everything feels when it is simply alive. This is one of the themes of this book. The book is trying to say that simply being alive is enough for one to be happy. Its trying to say that material goods are not what brings happiness, living life and surviving is how you stay happy in life.
Aidan Quinn
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult has many examples of descriptive writing throughout the book. One example of descriptive writing is on page 379, Brian thinks to himself, “I try to work through the few things [Anna] said, tracing and trying to make sense of them the way the Greeks somehow found the five points in the sky and decided it looked like a woman’s body.” “Trying” is a big part of the book that involves almost every character. This particular sentence is a metaphor comparing constellations to understanding what Anna said to Brain. This sentence is elaborate in the way that the author did not just state the obvious but went into detail about the constellations and how people interpreted them. This metaphor relates to the book because Anna is “trying” to figure out what she wants; she wants Kate, her sister, to live but does not want to be part of her and does not want to go through another procedure again. This sentence connects to one of the themes in the book, to stand up for yourself and have your voice heard for once. Anna is finally putting her foot down about being told what to do for her sister.
Another example of descriptive writing is on page 401, Jesse thinks to himself, “I wait for the one stroke of lightning that would arrow through my heart, and make me feel one hundred percent alive for the first time in my whole sorry existence.” “Alive” is what this book is all about and being yourself for a change. This sentence is also a metaphor comparing a stroke of lightning to living for the first time. This example is unique because it is not an obvious metaphor and it is an interesting thought like when mad scientists want to bring their monsters alive they use lightning to make that happen as Jesse is thinking too that the lightning will bring him “alive” again. This sentence relates to the book because if Anna wins her trial then she gets to be herself for the first time and not anyone else. She would not always be relied on by her sister and mother, and she can do what she wants when she wants to do it. She will have all the freedom she needs to live her life for the first time if the judge is on her side in the courtroom. The author connects the sentence to another theme in this book about truly living. Anna would be living her life as she wants to if she gets her way.
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen pgs 18-19
"After a while I turn to the house, climb the stoop, and push open the back door. My father's prized possession- a Philco radio- sits on the kitchen counter. My mother's blue sweater hangs on the back of a chair. There are ironed linens on the kitchen table, a vase of wilting violets. An overturned mixing bowl, two plates, and a handful of cutlery set to dry on a checked dish towel spread out by the sink. This morning, I had parents. This morning, they ate breakfast. I fall to my knees, right there on the back stoop, howling into splayed hands. The ladies of the church auxiliary, alerted to my return by the superintendent's wife, swoop down on me within the hour. I'm still on the stoop, my face pressed into my knees. I hear gravel crunching under tires, car doors slamming, and next thing I know i'm surrounded by doughy flesh, flowered prints, and gloved hands. I am pressed against soft bosoms, poked by veiled hats, and engulfed by jasmine, lavender, and rose water. Death is a formal affair, and they're dressed in their Sunday best. They pat and they fuss, and above all, they cluck."
This excerpt is a very good example of descriptive writing. Jacob is talking about losing both of his parents and remembering the life with them he had only hours before. He describes memories of them, their possessions that he knows so well. He also creates a vivid image of being bombarded with women from his church. This passage ties into the theme of new life in the story. Jacob wants to get away because of his parent's death and then jumps a circus train. The author says "gravel crunching under tires" and "engulfed by jasmine" which both give me a very clear pictures of what is happening.
page 119
"I take a seat some distance from the tent housing the abandoned animals, watching it with increasing desperation. The sidewall billows inward from a sudden gust of wind. There isn't even a cross draft. I have never been more aware of the heat beating down on my own head and the dryness of my own throat. I remove my hat and wipe a gritty arm across my forehead. When the orange and blue flag goes up over the cookhouse for dinner, a handful of new Benzini Brothers employees join the lineup, identifiable by the red dinner tickets they clutch in their hands."
This excerpt is a very good example of descriptive writing because good adjectives were used and although it is short, the words used are perfect in describing the situation. This passage shows the theme of lonliness. Jacob is sitting alone after denieing alcohol froma previous unpleasant experience. Throughout the story different characters are lonely in their lives on the circus, even though they may not seem it. The author says, "the sidewall billows inward" which is a good example of personification and gives good imagery. The author also writes, "gritty arm across my forehead." This creates a picture in my mind and I can feel the dirty arm on my forehead from reading it.
House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
““You're like a wild animal,” complained Maria as she stood in the doorway of Matt’s room. “You hide in here like a bear in a cave.”
Matt looked indifferently at the curtained windows. He liked the safe, comfortable darkness. “I am an animal,” he replied. Once those words would have pained him, but he accepted his status now.” pg. 92
This excerpt from House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is a good example of both descriptive writing and a theme of the book. In this short passage, the author is able to set the scene, develop the two characters, and represent one of the themes in the book. Quickly, the reader is engaged by Maria’s stirring comment, and then introduced to a “cave,” which is a metaphor for Matt’s room. Matt agrees with her statement, saying how comments such as this do not madden him anymore. The conflict between Matt and society are introduced here, for clones are treated as if they were “animals,” which he has become accustomed to. This ties in to a major theme of the book, which is that being different isn’t necessarily bad, in fact, it is often better than being “normal.”
“Matt was frankly relieved to see them go. They were an unwelcome distraction in the orderly world he had created. He could forget them now and get back to the contemplation of his kingdom. The surface of the sawdust was combed smooth, the treasures hidden beneath marks that only he, the king, understood. A bee wandered in, found nothing, and left. A spider mended its web high up near the ceiling. Matt took out the dove feather and lost himself in its silky perfection.” pg. 49
The imagery used in this passage from House of the Scorpion paints a clear picture of Matt’s room, or “kingdom.” After being held captive in this room for a long period of time, Matt learned how to keep himself company, and created his own imaginary world because the real one he lived in was so unbearable. In a room full of shavings and sawdust, with almost no human interaction, Matt clung to his few possessions, and paid close attention to the insects that go in and out of his lair. This, as does my other excerpt, illustrates the hardships that Matt went through as a clone. At his age in this passage (six), Matt is yet to understand this beyond realizing that he is treated worse than others for being different. This represents the main lesson of the book, how people with differences shouldn’t be persecuted, by exhibiting how maliciously clones are treated.
What’s the Matter With Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank
“As long as America loves authenticity, my home state of Kansas is going to be symbolically preeminent. Whatever the standard form measuring salt-of-the-earthness happens to be at the moment-the WPA social realism of the thirties or the red-state theories of today’s conservatives-Kansas is going to rank high. It may not do too well by other measurements, but in the quest for symbols of down-home, stand-pat, plainspoken, unvarnished, bedrock American goodness Kansas has everyone else beat. If it’s 100 percent Americanism we’re looking for, Kansas delivers 110 percent. If it’s the down-to-earth stoicism of Nixon-voting Middle Americans that’s being celebrated, somebody will point out that Kansas is the most middling of all possible American places, the exact center of the continental United States, in fact. The vortex of the nation, in Allen Ginsberg’s phrase. Kansas is deepest Reagan country, the heart of the heartland, the roots of the grass, the reddest of red states.” (28)
This is a very good example of descriptive writing, one of the best in this book, it being namely a political novel, but it is a good example nonetheless. Frank uses lots of good vocabulary words and hyphenated adjectives like “salt-of-the-earthness” (28). This helps create an air of knowledge and the passage becomes descriptive with the vocabulary supplementing it. It creates the imagery of Kansas being the “heart of the heartland,” and the “vortex of the nation.” These are descriptive because they help create imagery while underlining a main theme of the book, which is that oftentimes, the most normal of people are the most extreme in terms of politics. Namely, that the “down-to-earth” citizens of Kansas are among the farthest right voters of anyone in the nation, so much so that a female senator from Kansas was against female suffrage. She thought that empowering women was a bad idea! (Ironic, isn’t it…)
“One thing unites all these different groups of Kansans, these millionaires and trailer-park dwellers, these farmers and thrift store managers and slaughterhouse workers and utility executives: they are almost all Republicans. Meatpacking Garden City voted for George W. Bush in even greater numbers than did affluent Johnson County. The blue-collar, heavily unionized city of Wichita used to be one of the few Democratic strongholds in the state; in the nineties it became one of the most consistently conservative places of them all, a mighty fortress in the wars over abortion, evolution, loose interpretation of the Constitution, and water fluoridation.
This is another good example of descriptive writing, because it describes many of the different occupations a Kansan might have, but also because it uses metaphor (Wichita as a “mighty fortress,” and also as a “stronghold.”). Thomas Frank often uses lots of adjectives as part of his writing style, which is great for descriptive writing, but is also distracting for me as a reader, because a political novel should focus primarily on the point of the writing, not on glamorous adjectives, although they are well-written. This ties back to one of the themes of the book by talking not only about the Republicanization of Kansas, but also about how people vote against their economic interests for insignificant things like abortion and evolution, particularly the poor and impoverished.
Devyn Collins
Period: 5
Due Date: 9/11/08
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
“At the time of his death, Eddie was a squat, white-haired old man, with a short neck, a barrel chest, thick forearms, and a faded army tattoo on his right shoulder. His legs were thin and veined now, and his left knee, wounded in the war, was ruined by arthritis. He used a cane to get around. His face was broad and craggy from the sun, with salty whiskers and a lower jaw that protruded slightly, making him look prouder than he felt. He kept a cigarette behind his left ear and a ring of keys hooked to his belt. He wore rubber-soled shoes. He wore an old linen cap. His pale brown uniform suggested a workingman, and a workingman he was.” – Page 2
In this excerpt, Mitch is describing Eddie’s physical appearance, just before he dies. One reason as to why this excerpt is a particularly good example of descriptive writing though, is because if you closed your eyes, and had someone read this passage aloud to you, it wouldn’t take long before Eddie’s appearance, as “broad” with “salty whiskers” would be pictured in your head, very precisely. This is certainly a good example of imagery, where vivid images constantly fill the readers mind, as it sometimes helps, in order to better understand the book.
In addition, this starting passage prepares the reader with the necessary information about the character, so that when something happens and you don’t understand it, you can relate back to this passage. For instance, in a way the paragraph demonstrates foreshadowing, giving clues as to what is going to happen without explicitly explaining it. As stated, “His pale brown uniform suggested a workingman,” and later we find out that Eddie had spent most of his life as the maintenance man at Ruby Pier, who kept the rides safe. Although he is going to die, the workingman won’t, as he begins to search for his five special people in his venture through heaven. This indicates that many of the events that happened in the book have some relevance to this passage, and almost every sentence from this text has a symbol in it. This is important since stories specifically derive from these symbols, at various points within the book. Overall, this passage is like a tree trunk. It is simple and plain, but holds many clues for further reading within the book. Above the trunk are the branches, where all the stories lye and each branch connects to the trunk in some way, in order to piece together an event in Eddie’s life.
One of the main themes of this book however, was how all endings are also beginnings. This passage especially ties into this theme, although it is kind of abstract, because this is before Eddie is about to die. It’s ironic how it’s the beginning of the book, yet the end of his life, and the beginning of his journey into heaven. Although this is right before his death, it eventually starts his mission of finding the five people that he meets in heaven. From this one passage it is evident, yet in a subtle way that all endings are truly beginnings. Therefore the circle of life is apparent, as you’re born young, grow old and pass, and then begin a new life or experience depending, as you take a new form and journey through the circle once more.
“With that, the river rose quickly, engulfing Eddie’s waist and chest and shoulders. Before he could take another breath, the noise of children disappeared above him, and he was submerged in a strong but silent current. His grip was still entwined with Tala’s, but he felt his body being washed from his soul, meat from the bone, and with it went all the pain and weariness he ever held inside him, every scar, every wound, every bad memory.
He was nothing now, a leaf in the water, and she pulled him gently, through shadow and light, through shades of blue and ivory and lemon and black, and he realized all these colors, all along, were the emotions of his life. She drew him up through the breaking waves of a great gray ocean and he emerged in brilliant light above an almost unimaginable scene.” – Page 193
This excerpt is not only a good example of descriptive writing, but it also has good usage of powerful language, and emotion within it, so that by the time you get to the end, each detail finally pieces together like a puzzle. One reason as for why this excerpt was a particularly good example of descriptive writing though, was because a literary element was used, which is identified as personification. The river was given qualities such as “engulfing Eddie,” in order to get a point across, and make it clear to the reader as to what was being depicted. Each word in this passage nicely flowed together, creating a text that was so soothing to listen to. This passage also gave examples to allow the words to have more meaning; “He felt his body being washed from his soul, meat from the bone.” In a sense this could be recognized as a metaphor, comparing his body and soul to meat and bone, and how each can be washed away from the other. In addition, Eddie is also compared to a leaf in the water, which gives you a strong image to work with. By knowing Eddie, anything other than a “leaf” would have been used to describe him, seeing that he was always on the go. Therefore, by having Eddie compared to one, and by just picturing it drift slowly in the water, signifies that Eddie was no longer everything, but rather he turned to nothing.
Nevertheless, this excerpt ties into one of the main themes of the book, which is that all endings are also beginnings. The way in which this excerpt relates is that once Eddie is described as nothing, it signifies his ending. As the girl pulls Eddie gently through the shadow and light, along with all the colors, it represents his turning point in which he begins to realize things again, which is the start to his new journey. As she pulls him through the “breaking waves of a gray ocean” and he emerges in brilliant light above an “almost unimaginable scene,” it signifies metaphorically how Eddie was dead in the river, which ran into an ocean, and then was pulled through the waves, which is the beginning of life for him again, as he is now an angel, and emerges in light above an unimaginable scene. Eddie went from being dead in this passage, metaphorically speaking, to finding strength and realizing that his ending or death was also going to turn into a new beginning. He makes the best of it, and begins life, as he emerges above the scene, and takes part in a new world. By looking down at this scene which is Ruby Pier, and realizing that the people were there because of something simple Eddie had done in his life, the accidents he had prevented, and the rides he had kept safe, made Eddie feel at ease, as he could now be at peace and begin his life in heaven, which was now a place known to him as home.
“His eyes took in the whole of this in a single instant, yet his mind refused either to read or to believe it: his face went red, and with a curiously harsh, severe expression he obligated himself to spell through line by line. The second reading ran faster and faster: and an immense delighted joy came welling up about his heart. His face grew redder still, and his mouth widened of itself. He laughed aloud and tapped the letter, folded it, unfolded it and read it with the closest attention, having entirely forgotten the beautiful phrasing of the middle paragraph. For an icy second the bottom of the new world that had sprung into immensely detailed life seemed to be about to drop out as his eyes focused upon the unlucky date. He held the letter up to the light, and there, as firm, comforting and immovable as the rock of Gibraltar, he saw the Admiralty’s watermark, the eminently respectable anchor of hope” (20).
In Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian, there are several good examples of descriptive writing. On page 20 is a great example because it does a good job of showing not telling. The author uses phrases like, “face grew redder still”, delighted joy came welling up about his heart”, and “an icy second”. These and other phrases make you think your watching Jack (the main character) get his ship. Mr. O’Brian also uses similes like “comforting and immovable as the rock of Gibraltar” to get across that Jack will still get his ship. This passage is important because it shows that Jack had always wanted a ship and that he will finally get his own. The passage says this by showing how excited he was to read the letter saying he will get a ship to command.
“The day had given place to night, and Jack observed with profound satisfaction that it made remarkably little difference on deck. The sloop came up into the wind, filled on the other tack and bore away towards the wavering flare on the third tub. The broadsides rapped out one after another, crimson-scarlet tongues stabbing into the smoke; the powder-boys flitted along the deck, down through the dreadnought screens past the sentry to the magazine and back with cartridge; the gun –crews heaved and grunted; the matches glowed: the rhythm hardly changed. ‘Six minutes and forty-two seconds’ ” (226).
In this passage, the author is very descriptive in how the ship’s crew fires the cannons. He explains almost every thing and gives a good picture of what is happening in the ship. Mr. O’Brian uses words like “scarlet”, “stabbing”, and “grunted” to create the picture of the ship’s crew reloading the guns and firing them. To get an even better description, there are very technical words like “dreadnought screens” and “powder-boys” to get a clearer picture in fewer words. This passage is important because it shows the importance of working together on a ship. By saying “the powder-boys flitted along the deck” and “gun-crews heaved” leads us to believe that there are many people who take part in doing this action of firing a cannon.
Jon Csaplar
The other book I chose to read this summer is "The Five People you Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom.I enjoyed reading this book because of the descriptive language. It was very easy to picture what was going on. An excerpt that really made me think was on page 112."Can I go back" She squinted, "Back" "yeah back, "Eddie said.” To my life. To that last day. Is there something I can do? Can I promise to be good? Can I promise to go to church all the time? Something? "This really stood out to me because the theme of this book was about moving forward and talked about how everything happens for a reason and nothing happens by mistakes. Eddie is supposed to be learning that but instead he wants to go back. When I read that I could hear the agony in his voice and it made me want to tell him "yes you can go back". But Eddie wouldn't have learned anything. On page 151 it reads, "Joe is wearing a checkered sport coat and a black-and-white saddle shoe. Eddie thinks his brother looks fancy-which means phony-but Joe is a salesman and Eddie has been wearing the same outfit for years so what does he know? Mitch Albom wrote that so that you could see how inadequate Eddie felt to his brother and how he could never measure up. He felt like nothing and to him he was.
Analysis
Katie McCormick
Due 9/11
Page 59: Sunday morning. My parents return from Connecticut early because Dad has to leave for a business trip to Chicago this afternoon. I’m sitting on the couch, watching TV and chewing my fat-free nails. They say hi to me and then Mom goes into the kitchen to make a smoothie.
A moment later she appears in the living room again.
"Virginia, I’m so proud of you," she says.
I mute the volume. It’s not every day I hear "Virginia" and "proud" in the same sentence.
"Why?"
"I just saw those pictures you stuck on the fridge."
Mom, meet the Food Police.
Mom continues. "You want to hear something funny?"
I nod.
"Back when I was . . ." - Mom pauses - ". . . a teenager, I put images of models on my family’s fridge, to keep me from eating too much."
"Really?"
Mom nods. "Like mother, like daughter."
As she heads back into the kitchen, I pump the volume on the TV again.
In The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things, Virginia Shreves, a sophomore in high school has a weight problem and some social issues. The book is written in her perspective, and her voice is not very descriptive. I did the best I could picking passages that could qualify as descriptive writing.
I picked this passage mostly because if you hadn’t read the book, you would know a lot about Virginia’s character, just by reading the excerpt. I really like the line “watching my nails and chewing my fat free nails.” Virginia has a great sense of humor, and it comes out in that line. This passage also characterizes Virginias mom, who has never really given her much praise, because she is not perfect like her other tow children. Virginia has almost been neglected her entire life, and I don’t think that it’s because her parents don’t love her, just because they don’t have time. This is a main theme in the book. Also when she says “It’s not everyday I hear ‘Virginia’ and ‘proud’ in the same sentence” makes the reader feel bad for her in a way.
Going back to the theme of being neglected, right from the start of the passage, she explains how her parents are coming home early, just because her dad has to leave again. You also get the feeling that Virginia spends a lot of time watching TV, just by the way she says it.
Virginia’s mom and dad are always encouraging her to do something about her body weight, and even though they probably mean well, Virginia begins to realize that they don’t like her the way she is, and they can’t accept her. Little girls always want to be like their moms when they are little, and in this passage Virginia’s mom rewards her by taking a step towards losing weight by telling her about how she did that when she was her age. Another theme in the book is failure, and this passage does a pretty good job of capturing that.
Page 8: I’m doing my best imitation of a lover seized by passion. Eyelids heavy, faint upper curve to lips - just like women in movie who always look so orgasmic. But, truth be told, I’m having a complete panic attack. I’m worried that Froggy is going to attempt to take my shirt off. It’s okay for his hands to be rummaging inside it, but there’s no way I’m letting him see my upper arms and stomach. I don’t know where the term “love handles” got there name, but I have feeling Froggy wouldn’t find mine that endearing.
I’m also double checking and triple checking whether I’ve locked my bedroom door. My workaholic parents rarely leave the office before seven, and most nights they eat dinner out or grab something on the run. But I’d hate this to be the one time they come home early, to find their youngest child going at it with a guy who’s named after an amphibian.
I like this passage a lot. This excerpt does a great job of condensing Virginia’s entire personality and putting it into two paragraphs. You can tell she is very uncomfortable with herself and the way she looks, and she’s very cute and funny. This is taken from one of the very first pages, and immediately the reader is attached to Virginia, and stays with her for the whole book.
The scene is set up really well I think, how she makes a connection to romantic movies, and then confesses she’s a nervous breakdown. I think that lots of girls her age would definitely relate. Some words I really like are: “Eyelids heavy, faint upper curve to lips.” The reader doesn’t really know what to think about Virginia yet, and I think when she makes the joke about having a panic attack, the reader gets the feeling that shes’s a really funny sweet girl, but also begins to worry a about her a little. Is she okay?
Even from the beginning, we get the feeling that her parents aren’t really around all that much, and don’t pay her much attention. Later in the book we get the full story on that. I also found it interesting that while she’s with Froggy, she’s not thinking about him, but she’s thinking about her door being locked, and what a nightmare it would be if her parents came home. Instead of living in the moment, her mind is wandering. I would say this is another theme about being uncomfortable, like how she is uncomfortable with her body, She’s also uncomfortable in this moment.
I read Twilight, among the many. It was a good book because it was exciting, suspenseful and up to date. I never knew what was going to happen. Normally I can guess because I have read so my books, but this one kept me guessing. Also, when I say up to date I mean it is about a girl in the present, this is always the best way to connect and evidently the author knows that. The plot line was also extreme well connected. Each event transitions so well i mostly didn't even realize.
David Coffman
Period 5
Playing For Pizza
“Sam translated softly but quickly. “’This is tortellini in meat stock, a famous dish here. The little round pasta balls are stuffed with braised beef, prosciutto, and parmigiano; filling varies pasta from town to town, but of course Parma has the best recipe. The pasta was handmade by Carlo himself this afternoon. Legend has it that the guy who created tortellini modeled it after the belly button of beautiful naked woman. All sorts of such legends here involving food, wine, and sex. The broth is beef, garlic, butter, and a few other things.”’ Rick’s nose was a few inches above the bowl, inhaling the rich aromas.”
This excerpt on page 52 is an excellent example of descriptive writing. This excerpt describes the feast that the main character (Rick) goes through. While reading this I could see each course being placed on the table and Rick’s eyes light up as he sees the delicious food being served to him. “This is tortellini in meat stock, a famous meat dish here. The little round pasta balls are stuffed with braised beef, prosciutto, and parmigiano.” This excerpt goes very in depth with food which is one huge aspect of culture in Italy. One of the books main theme is Rick, learning a new culture and new place.
“It was that moment in every game when the quarterback, unprotected and vulnerable, sees an open receiver and has a split second to make a choice. Throw the pass and risk a bruising tackle, or yank the ball down and run for safety. Rick planted his feet and threw the ball as far as he possibly could. After the launch , Maschi’s helmet landed under his chin and almost broke his jaw. The pass was a tight spiral, so high and so long that the crowd gasped in disbelief. It had the hang time of a perfect punt, a few long seconds where everybody froze.”
This excerpt on page 250-251 uses great descriptive writing tools. It makes you feel like you are one of the diehard fans crammed into the stands that Sunday in Italy. I can picture holding my breathe while the ball slices through the air. One of the themes of this book was that Rick never cared about his teammates and helping out his team, but in this final play of the game Rick shows that he now cares about his teammates as he risks a bruising hit to win the game. “It was that moment in every game when the quarterback, unprotected and vulnerable, sees an open receiver and has a split second to make a choice. Throw the pass and risk a bruising tackle, or yank the ball down and run for safety.” Rick finally sacrificed for his team at the end and learned what it means to be called a team player.
Rainbow Six
By Tom Clancy
Page 306 - 307
“‘Team-2, this is lead. Five seconds … five… four … three – ‘ At ‘three’ the men holding the flash-bangs pulled the pins and set them right next to the windows, then turned aside. ‘- … two… one… fire!’
Sergeant Connolly pressed his button, and two windows were sundered from the wall by explosives. A fraction of a second later, three more windows were blown in by a wall of noise and blazing light. They flew across the room in a shower of glass and lead fragments, missing the children in the corner by three meters.
Next to Chavez, Sergeant Major Price tossed in another flash-bang, which exploded the moment it touched the floor. Then Chavez pushed outward from the wall, swinging into the room through the window, his MP-10 up and in both hands. He hit the floor badly, falling backward, unable to control his balance, then felt Price’s feet land on his left arm. Chavez rolled and jolted to his feet, then moved to the kids. They were screaming with alarm, covering their faces and ears from the abuse of the flash-bangs. But he couldn’t worry about them just yet. Price landed better, moving right as well, but turned to scan the room. There. It was a bearded one, holding an Uzi. Price extended his MP-10 to the limit of the sling and fired a three round burst right into his face from three meters away. The force of the bullet impacts belied the suppressed noise of the shots.
Oso Vega had kicked his window loose on leg power alone, and landed right on top of a subject, rather to the surprise of both, but Vega was ready for surprises, and the terrorist was not. Oso’s left hand slammed out, seemingly of its own accord, and hit him in the face with enough force to split it open into a bloody mess that a burst of three 10 mm rounds only made worse.
Rene was sitting at his desk, the phone in his hand, and his pistol on the tabletop before him. He was reaching for it when Pierce fired into the side of his head from six feet away.
In the far corner, Chavez and Price skidded to a stop, their bodies between the terrorists and the hostages. Ding came to one knee, his weapon up while his eyes scanned for targets, as he listened to the suppressed chatter of his men’s weapons. The semidarkness of the room was alive now with moving shadows. Loiselle found himself behind a subject, close enough to touch him with the muzzle of his submachine gun. This he did. It made the shot an easy one, but sprayed blood and brains all over the room.
One in the corner got his Uzi up, and his finger went down on the trigger, spraying in the direction of the children. Chavez and Price both engaged him, then McTyler as well, and the terrorist went down in a crumpled mass.
Another had opened a door and raced through it, splattered by bullet fragments from a shooter whose aim was off, and hit the door. This one ran down, away from the shooting, turning one corner, then another – and tried to stop when he saw a black shape on the steps.
It was Peter Covington, leading his team up. Covington had heard the noise of his steps and taken aim, then fired when the surprised –looking face entered his sights. Then he resumed his race topside, with four men behind him.
That left three in the room. Two hid behind desks, one holding his Uzi up and firing blindly, Mike Pierce jumped over the desk, twisting in midair as he did so, and shot him three times in the side and back. Then Pierce landed, turned back and fired another burst into the back of his head. The other one under a desk was shot in the back by Paddy Connolly. The one who was left stood, blazing away wildly with his weapon, only to be taken down by no fewer than four team members.
Just then the door opened, and Covington came in. Vega was circulating about, kicking the weapons away from every body, and after five seconds shouted: “Clear!”
‘Clear!’ Pierce agreed.”
This excerpt is the single best example of descriptive writing in the entire book, if not the best that I have ever read. It chronicles the tail of a group of soldiers, Team 2, a group of terrorists, and a group of hostage children imprisoned by the terrorists. With each word, it is almost as though there is a movie playing in slow motion in your mind, allowing you to visualize the plight of these children, and the heroic actions that the soldiers go through to save them. The sharp crack of gunfire can be heard, and with each bad guy killed, you cheer inwardly for the soldiers. A theme from this passage that is reoccurring throughout the book is sacrifice. Each and every soldier goes into the room knowing that they could very easily die in the line of duty. But they still go in, and are willing to give up their own lives so that the children may survive. Some words that were used to set the scene were fire, flew across the room in a shower of glass, suppressed chatter of weapons, and clear. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this passage, because it was interesting, and had edge of your seat suspense.
Page 682
Gearing paused fifty feet or so from the door. The usual mission jitters, he told himself. He was about to do something from which there was no turning back. He asked himself for the thousandth time if he really wanted to do this. There were fellow human beings all around him, people seemingly just like himself with hopes and dreams and aspirations – but, no, those things they held in their minds weren’t like the things he held in his own, were they? They didn’t get it, didn’t understand what was important and what was not.
I found this to be an incredibly descriptive writing example for two reasons. The first was it described exactly what was going through the man’s head as he was about to attempt to murder billions of people, and because each word is perfectly chosen, and none are wasted, letting you receive a clear and crisp view of everything. This excerpt ties into the main themes of the book because the story is all about choices, and how you decide what decision you are going to make, and the ramifications that come as a result of that decision. Some of the words that I really thought did a good job of setting the scene were paused, jitters, no turning back, hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Each of these words or phrases does a good job of painting a picture in your minds eye, and giving you a feel as if you are standing there right next to him, mentally wrestling with him on whether or not to do this evil deed.
The Education Of a Coach by: David Halberstam
Page 81. “Very early on, Bill Belichick, not surprisingly, started seeing the game through the eyes of a coach. Studying the game and scouting off film is exhausting, repetitive work, which can quickly turn into drudgery., as there is no shortcut: You have to run the film forward, run it back, run it forward again, and run it back again two of three times. To most people, a quick view of what another team did is enough. But for Steve Belichick and soon enough for his son, that quick view was a quick ticket into another world, in which you could find so much more than was on the surface: the way different players lined up for different plays, the difference in cadences for running and passing plays- all those things might give you an edge.”
This passage in the book, “The Education of a Coach,” by David Halberstam showed great description I felt of how it is like to be a coach. Bill Belichick was born a coach because of the family he was born into. His father was one of the greatest scouts of his time according to the book. This shows how Bill was able to pick up coaching so easily which relates to the theme of the book because the theme of the book is how Bill Belichick was able to become one the greatest coaches in the history of football. I also like how the author writes, “But for Steve Belichick and soon enough for his son, that quick view was a quick ticket into another world.” That shows how much Steve and Bill Belichick love to coach. I feel like the author is taking you into the film room and showing you what it is like to feel what they feel in limited words.
Pages 18-19. “The entire region of western Pennsylvania and eastern and central Ohio was great football country, both high school and college. Everyone seemed to care passionately about the game. This was, after all, a part of the country where tough men endured great physical hardship to earn a living- only the strong succeeded, and not surprisingly, they produced big, strong, athletically gifted children, who had no fear of ferocious physical contact-indeed, they seemed to relish it. In the era before the coming of the great black athletes, when power was blended with speed and the game stayed just as physical but got a lot faster, no area produced as many great football players or as many distinguished coaches as this region. For the children of the steel mills, whose parents barely spoke English, it was often the first step in the Americanization process, the first recognition as successes they or their families would get, and in some cases the first ticket out of the steel mills and coal mines, a chance for a college education.”
This passage describes the place where Steve Belichick grew up. I feel the passage in the book was crucial because it shows why Steve Belichick chose football. It helped him get out of the steel mills and into a college. The author adds that most of the men in this area were big which helps you in football, “only the strong succeeded, and not surprisingly, they produced big, strong, athletically gifted children.” David Halberstam tells you why the football players were so good in this part of the country in that exact same quote, by the also adds that they were tough, and fast. This was the most needed paragraph in the whole book because it shows how the Belichick family got started in football.
Keonho Oh
9-11-08
Book Analysis
The book I read during the summer is Ender’s Game, written by Orson Scott Card. It is a fairly old book, but has some extraordinary writing skills in it. The following passage is from page 207 of the book.
“He peeled off his flash suit, which stank from his sweat. His body felt cold, his joint oddly weak. Shouldn’t have slept in the middle of the day. I’m beginning to slack off. I’m beginning to wear down. Can’t let it get to me.”
Orson Card uses some very descriptive writing skills, the way he put how the boy took his clothes off, he didn’t just wrote “he took his flash suite off” and made it sound dull, he wrote how he “peeled” the suit off of him. He also described the tiredness of the boy by saying he felt the coldness of his body and oddly feeling in the joints, while he could’ve just said the boy was tired. It gave me a strong image in my head. The passage ties in to the lesson of the book, which is to not give up at something you really want. Card uses strong words to make his writing more descriptive than any other book.
Another example of his descriptive writing can be found on page 212 of the book.
“All Ender could see, though, was the Bonzo looked as Ender kicked upward into his groin. The empty, dead look in his eyes. He was already finished then. Already unconscious. His eyes were open, but he wasn’t thinking or moving anymore, just that dead, stupid look on his face, that terrible look, the way Stilson looked when I finished with him.”
The way he described the way an unconscious person looked, almost makes as if the person is dead. Card used the work “dead” twice in the passage, that gives the reader a very irritating, but a strong image. He writes with connections to the past of the story, about where the reader is reminded of the violence repeated in the book. This is representing another theme of the book, that one needs to do something when it’s needed even though it may not be a right thing to do. The main character uses violence to solve his problems, because that is the only way to fix it.
keonho oh
A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini
"Sometimes," Nana said early one morning, as she was feeding the chickens outside the kolba, "I wish my father had had the stomach to sharpen one of his knives and do the honorable thing. It might have been better for me." She tossed another handful of seeds into the coop, paused, and looked at Miriam. "Better for you too, maybe. It would have spared you the grief of knowing that you are what you are. But he was a coward, my father. He didn't have the dil, the heart, for it." Jalil didn't have the dil either, Nana said, to do the honorable thing. To stand up to his family, to his wives and in-laws, and accept responsibility for what he had done. Instead, behind closed doors, a face-saving deal had quickly been struck. The next day, he had made her gather her few things from the servants' quarters, where she'd been living, and sent her off.
"You know what he told his wives by way of defense? That I forced myself on him. That it was my fault. Didi? You see? This is what it means to be a woman in this world." Nana put down the bowl of chicken feed. She lifted Miriam’s chin with a finger. "Look at me, Miriam."
Reluctantly, Miriam did.
Nana said, "Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Miriam." (first couple pages)
This excerpt from the beginning of the book really shows how Nana is upset with her life and even though she sometimes feels like her daughter is useless, she feels it’s her fault that it became that way. This whole book really explains and shows many examples of how some men can never be trusted. At first Miriam doesn’t believe Nana but after she tries to go and see her father, but she realizes that her father doesn’t love her as much and is embarrassed by her. Throughout this book everyone endures the pain of a man hurting them physically in some way. The thing is, even though Miriam is connected to Laila and they are thought of to be very similar, Laila finds Tariq, who is a good person and they love each other very much. Both Laila and Miriam are forced into marrying their husband who is an abusive horrible man to both of them. I believe that in this book, this is trying to prove that all men aren’t as bad as they’re put out to be. Tariq and Laila end up finding each other and being happy together in the end. I think that this shows that what Nana had said in the beginning was proven to be incorrect. This book shows women going through hardships and proves that they can make it through. Also, in the beginning Miriam is devastated with her father when she is forced to marry off after only a week of her mother being dead. She wouldn’t speak to him ever again and later in her life she finds out that he was incredibly sorry and wishes he had never left her out and she was a great daughter to him. This makes her feel upset over leaving without even saying goodbye but it also makes her realize that her mother was wrong and that most people are good people, they can just go through bad times.
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