Jess-11

What happened at the beginning of this book really made me laugh. The fact that Artie is trying to decide how to draw someone in a bpok, which is probably what he did to write this book in teh first plac ereally made me laugh. It's like the whole looking through mirrors that are looking through mirrors that are looking through mirrors. Its a concept that I find funny to think about. Anyway, onto the chapters.

I thought that Vladek faking a heart attack to make sure that Artie would hear about his problems was a bitter-sweet thing. Bitter becaues it seemed like he did it for nothing, but sweet because he wanted someone to be around him considering his new wife had just left him. What I thought was even more bitter sweet was the fact that rtie talked to his girlfriend (Francoise) about his relationship (if there is even one) with his father. Over the years, Artie had notifced that the two aren't that close and is wondering why it happened and what to do about it. When the two get to Vladek's house, he seems to guilt them into staying at the hous, even though Artie is angry at ihs father for assuming that the two would stay there for the whole summer except for a couple of days.

Its obvious that Auschwitz has changed Vladek as when he was in the concentration camp he cared about others and worried about them befor himself, but when he got out he started to act like he was a bit touched in the head. 

I think that this is one of the strongest books I've ever read about the holocaust, especially since it goes into such detail over how some of the Jews had died. It's a very sad thing to read, but its soemthing that we must know so we don't go and do it again.

With chapters four through six, it shows how Vladek had to move from his house into another, smaller one. I only knew that that has happened with a few people from the Diary of Anne Frank, which told of how a girl and her family and another family had to hide in a abandoned building for over a year so the Germans wouldn't find them. And like in the Diary of Anne Frank, Vladek and his family were taken to Auschwitz, the most famous concentration camp. Vladek is a survivor of this, but many of his family and friends died there. What I really like about this is the fact that because its a graphic novel, you can see something serious and understand it in a different way than having read it or watch it yourself. (Example pg. 108)

Maus really shows you the seriousness of the Holocaust, in a way that you will never forget it. What I think would make it better is if it was in color. Not all of it, but some of the most important parts. Like, the part whereit was the comic in a comic, I thought that would be better in color.

So, by this time I have finished the book and I have a mixed review for it. It was a refreshing book to read because of teh fact that I generally read the same books over and over again, just becase I find the simple pleasdure of reading books where I already know what happens. But this book kind of annoyed me at the same time. I perceived it to be a book that was about a girl coming of age. She is trying to decide whether or not she wants to go to college and what she is possibly doing wrong with the fact that she doesn't have a boyfriend. But it also made me realize that at one point in their life, every girls is like that. They fantasize about something they want to have happen in their life , and they want it to be perfect when it does. But it also goes to show you that things don't always work out the way you want them to. Like Angie and Jack et back together, but then they have to go apart again by the time she is going off to college.

This book had its moments and its certainly not my favorite. But I still think it was good. So I'll give it an overall score of a 7/10.

Ok, so now I have read the second half of part two and the first half of part three. I'll bring you up to speed.

Angie and Jack are going steady and Angie couldn't be happier. But her family isn't that happy. She is spending too much time with him, going to parties, and drinking beer. Kitty, the youngest of the sisters is feeling left out. And her two older sisters are kind of rapped up in their own problems. The oldest (forgot her name) is currently dating someone and trying to set up the next youngest (I think her name was Lorraine) with a suitable date. And she has, but he's not suitable at all. He's a guy that is out of college that is messing with her feelings. Going out with her once, and then often leaving her hanging. And when they do go out, Lorraine acts weird towards her family and friends. Angie and Jack have a fight and decide not to go out anymore, and she and Kitty are hanging out more often. But her mother is telling her that she should go and try and get Jack back, because she doesn't like it when her daughter's not happy.

More whining in this part, but the reactions and the emotions were realistic. 7/10

 Just so you know, I've had all of these blogs done but hadn't posted them.

Well, I've now read the whole first part of the book and half of the second part. What's happened so far is that Angie has gone out and met some new freinds and is starting to have a little bit of fun. She's starting to become even more intimite with Jack, and is spending a lot of time with her sister Kitty, because she is still kind of alone. Through the two parts that I have read, Angie seems to be even more of a dreamer, often talking about things that should happen with relationships (like with her older sisters) and things that shouldn't happen, like what is happening to her. She often goes down to the local hangout to see if anybody recgonizes her as the girl that Jack had taken out on a date once, and nothing has really happened, so her fairytale instant popularity hasn't happened yet.

What I liked about this part was the fact that I could see how the author wanted to portray dating back then, as something that's really glamorous, as opposed to now how it is almost expecteed of you as soon as you turn thirteen.

I'd give the part I read a 6/10

Tom

-Seems to go out of his way to get his mother upset

-Goes to the movies constantly

-Gets away from his family

-Doesn't like his mom

-Idependant

-He really cares about Laura

-He is (at first) against getting a gentlemen caller for Laura, he doesn't want to go throug the trouble to make Amanda happy

- Jim acts as a possibilty of esacping (becaue he seems to love Laura, may possibly take her away and marry her so Tom can leave)

-Hasn't had his climax yet (may happen in scene 7)

-Openly explains what he is planning on doing with his life

"I'm like my father. The bastard son of a bastard! DId you notice how he's grinning in his picture in there? And he's been asbsent goong on sixteen years?" Tom, to Jim (pg. 62)

"I haven't enjoyed one bite of this dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it" Tom, to his mother (pg. 6)

From reading the first part of the book, I can already say that I don't think I will like it much. The main character, Angie, and her three sisters, her mother, her father and her crush, Jack, are the main focuses of this book. So far I don't really like the character of Angie. She is kind of whiny. BUt hta't sort of what s to be expected considering this book is about her falling in love for the first time on her seventeenth summer. Or so what I have perceived from reading the back of the book.

Anyways, the only thing (so far) that I did actually like was the fact that the conversations between the family was realisitic. It didn't just have one line between each person, skipping back and forth so you don't know who's talking. But the thing that I did like was that there was a lot of description, but it wasn't just about Angie. It was about her family and how she saw how others were taking their relationships. I thought that was a nice touch as I easily get tired with the 'me, me, me,' aspect of description in some first person books. And instead of making her a 'surreal character' one who is perfect (and I've sen a lot of those) she actually showed a lot ofher insecurities. Sure it got annoying after a bit, but it ws still a good touch.

What I noticed was that Mureen Daly wrote Angie as a character that often imagined things and thought things through (like on a high intellectual level) rather then just jumping right into the whole 'love at first sight' thing.

From what I've read so far, I would give this book a 4/10

"It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete" (pg.170)

SO, what happened was that Wilson thought that the person that Myrtle was seeing was the one that had the yellow car. So he thought it was Gatsby that was having an affair with Myrtle. That is a big mistake as we all know. He doesn't plan on doing anything until he sees the billboard with the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, he believes that they are the eyes of god. He thinks that god is demanding for him to get revenge on the one that caused his life so much grief (Gatsby.) He knows that it wasn't Tom that was drivin the ca becuase Wilson went up to the crime scene with Nick and Jordan in another car. Wilson goes to Gatsby's house and shoots him as he is lying on a pool raft. Gatsby dies instantly and then Wilson shoots himself. By this time, Nick goes back to West Egg (to Gatsby's house) and finds Gatsby floating dead in his pool. Nick realizes that Gastby felt horrible about Daisy not being able to be with him.

I thought that the quote meant (and was eventually proved right) that the quote meant that all of the killing and the revenge was over. Myrtle had died. Gastby had died because Wilson hated the thought of him killing Myrtle and had and affair with her, so he killed him. Then racked with guilt he killed himself. Those are all of the deaths in the story.

Raspingly (pg. 188) - gratingly: in a harsh and grating manner; "her voice fell gratingly on our ears"

Ashley's voice fell raspingly in my ears after she scream because she saw a rat.  

inessential (pg. 189) - not absolutely necessary

Use a dash (-) to insert an inessential phrase in a sentence