Blog #7 Final Essay

  THREE REASONS WHY PERCY IS A LIKABLE CHARACTER

HUMBLE BEGININGS

                In the book Percy Jackson and the lightning thief by Rick Riordan, although it was very brief, Percy (the main character) is introduced as a below average kid who seems to mess everything up. Having ADHD, Percy wasn’t able to focus in school which was a concern for his mother even though she loved him no matter what he did “When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad.” Percy comes from a place where most teens can relate to due to new technology and other fancy things that distract us from school. So we understand what he feels like especially when he is failing a math test; we’ve all been through that situation. This connection helps us go through the same experiences as Percy throughout the book, at least in our heads. Also, he doesn’t remember his dad which relates to most kids in North America who live with a single parent. This plays a crucial role when Percy loses is mother to a Minotaur because the reader feels empathetic to the situation and overall starts to root for Percy. Percy comes from a very humble background, allowing him to be grateful for simple things in life.

WRITING STYLE

                Rick Riordan has a unique style of writing which affects the character likability either positively or negatively depending on how it is interpreted. The book starts off with a brief explanation of who the character is and jumps straight into action. Due to this different approach of writing, it could be taken as if Percy is not an important enough character to go through the time and explain his personality. However, the story is narrated by Percy himself so we could interpret it like so many things were happening and with the combination of his ADHD may cause his narration to be a little unpredictable. “If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.” This is an example of Rick’s unique writing style which also includes the text to be as if someone were actually speaking to you and this lets the reader build a connection with Percy since he is the narrator.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

                Another common thing that helps the reader make positive connections with Percy would be the challenges he overcomes and how he does them. Percy relies mostly on natural instinct whenever he is stuck in a tricky situation. For example, after the Minotaur “kidnaps” his mother, Percy was only able to defeat the beast because he let his instincts guide him. However, throughout the book he starts to control the skill that he usually has when almost nearly faces death and acts on instinct. It is like being able to control when you want adrenaline to pump through you, giving you extra strength on demand. Percy is able to do this because he starts to act less selfish and puts others before him. This new way of thinking makes him progress as a hero. Seeing these changes Percy goes through, the reader’s connection becomes stronger since it shows that Percy is doing his best to overcome his challenges.

In conclusion, Rick Riordan does a great job setting up characters especially for Percy. Percy’s background plays a deciding factor on whether we see it as a typical plot or a means of making a connection with him. The writing is informal in some parts which makes it easier to connect with the main character. Also, making Percy overcome his internal conflicts shows his true nature which is humble and honest and they are very likable traits.   

Blog #6

4 Reasons why the Hobbit and chronicles of Narnia are not similar

Tolkien and Lewis were in fact members of The Inklings.

Tolkien is the author of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Lewis is the author of the Chronicles of Narnia. An even more interesting note to add on to this would be that Tolkien and Lewis were close friends. So when they became members of The Inklings, their works became more and more similar. It is said that in the Inklings both Tolkien and Lewis critiqued each other’s work. However each had its own theme and focused on completely different ideas.

Tolkien and Lewis have been known as the fathers of modern fantasy

This helps us understand why many people draw conclusions on Tolkien’s work and Lewis’ work and say that they are the same. It is easy to just point out the similarities between these two authors because they write books based off the same genre. However, if the books were coming from separate genres then the responses wouldn’t be the same. It would be like saying the Bourne movies are the same as the James Bond movies. But after seeing both, there are major differences that can be spotted. Back when Tolkien and Lewis wrote these books, there wasn’t much of the groundwork done for them in the Fantasy genre. So they just happened to write books based off the Middle Earth and now their books are lumped together.

The audience is completely different for the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia

The Hobbit was written as a children’s book and focuses on the aspect of staying where you are, it brought the feeling of staying at home just like the Wizard of Oz. While the Chronicles of Narnia was also a children’s book and focused of something completely different because throughout the story the main plot stays more on the adventure side without having the comfy home feeling like the Hobbit. As Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings, the book became darker and focused on more of an adult audience rather than staying with children’s fantasy. The expansion of the world increased in the book also and Tolkien actually created his own languages to go in the Lord of the Rings. As for the Chronicles of Narnia Lewis stayed with the younger audience. This shows the difference between each author’s audience preferences.

The plot is different for the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia

The Hobbit is about Bilbo’s adventures when he was a young man. A wizard comes to Bilbo’s house to convince him to leave the comfort of his home and embark on a dangerous journey to steal from a dragon guarded mountain. This story takes place in Middle Earth, so there are a lot of fictional characters like ogres, elves and etc. There is also a war about to take place against evil. However there are many side quests that come in the way because of these unforeseen circumstances. Now, in the chronicles of Narnia there are four children who escape the Nazi attacks in London and stay with their uncle. These four siblings stumble upon a magical dresser that teleports them into Middle Earth where the meet interesting fictional characters like a talking lion, an ice witch, and etc. This is also taking place during a war torn era and kids help fight for the good cause.

In conclusion, there are some similarities between both of the author’s works but the differences outweigh them. Aside from the Middle Earth setting, these books are completely different.               

Blog #5

I think that a book should be as truthful as possible for it to be considered non-fiction. I usually read non-fiction books to learn something that could be useful for me later in life. So, when a book states that it is non-fiction but in actuality is fiction, I would feel as if I had been lied to. If I were to read a book just for the purpose of entertainment I wouldn't mind if the book said that it was based on a true story or not. But it does affect people negatively if they were trying to do a research paper and had to use the book as a reference. I think that Frey shouldn't have been victimized as much as he was because his story was there to inspire other people who have drug problems that they have a chance too. It was the message he was trying to send which is more important than the story. However, if he was writing about history and embellished some information and categorized it as non-fiction, then it would be a problem because it has a negative affect on the credibility of non-fiction books. I don't agree with David Shields because I think there should be lines between genres. I also think that there should be a new genre which has stories that are there to inspire people. Whether they are based on a true stories or not should be kept secret so that people who want to read an inspiration book can choose for themselves to believe it or not.    

Blog #4: Adapting My Book

Jason Bourne is found by fishermen, with many fatal wounds he asks to dropped off at France so that he can regain his memory. In the book he slowly finds out that he is not a normal person and that someone wants him dead. Having amnesia he travels through Europe and the U.S. to find answers. I think that the book Bourne Identity being made into a movie would make the most sense. However it can also be produced into a t.v show because there are sequels to the book and each is very long. The fight scenes and the critical thinking parts of the book should be kept in the either the movie or t.v. show because that is what makes up most of this book. I think the scenes where the main character travels within the cities should be cut because it takes too long for anything intense to happen in those scenes. The fight scenes should be dragged out longer because in the book the fight scenes are but but there are many of them. The actor representing the main character should be fit like a special ops soldier, the men trying to kill him should look like government officials or political figures. The soundtrack should be eerie because most of the main character's scenes involve stealth and suspense. The move or t.v. show should capture the stealth and perceptiveness used by the main character because that is something that is unique to this book.  

Blog #3: Book 1 Project: The Martian Theme Park

Here is a great opportunity for anyone who loves the space exploration and wants to recollect all the dangerous adventures that occurred in the book The Martian. From inverted roller coasters to puzzles, this Martian theme park includes board games, crazy rides to pull serous G, a zero atmosphere space room, and many more. All these systems are to help you re-live the Mark Watney on Mars dilemma.

In The Martian, Mark Watney is an astronaut with degrees in both botany and mechanical engineer sent to Mars with five other astronauts like him with degrees in different fields. In their first week on Mars, the crew get hit with a huge sandstorm and abort mission to come back to Earth, however, while trying to get to their escape pod, Watney gets impaled with a radio antenna. Checking the computer signals from Watney’s space suit, the crew think that Watney died due to exposure to the Mars’ atmosphere. The crew finally depart, leaving Watney’s body on Mars since they couldn’t find it. Having luck on his side Watney’s blood seals the suit and he ends up surviving the big storm. With communications down and everyone on Earth believing he had died, Watney uses his problem solving skills as an engineer to fix many of problems he will face being the only person on Mars. “Actually, I was the very lowest ranked member of the crew. I would only be “in command” if I were the only remaining person.” What do you know? I’m in command”. He uses leadership skill, clever techniques, his ability to think on his feet, and applies his education in botany to grow potatoes on Mars to increase his food supply until the next Mars mission, which is in about 3 to 4 years. Being the only person on Mars, Watney faces challenges almost every day, some of which include: carbon dioxide filters not working, food supply diminishing, breaches in the dome structure he lives in which has one atmospheric pressure to keep him alive. “Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.” Yes, in the theme park there will be duct tape and a near vacuum space room and people will be able to explore the difficulties to move with a spacesuit on. Watney uses a lot of mental math and physics to calculate his survival with the supplies on hand; there will be math and physics problems in the board games at the theme park for people to enjoy the thinking part of the story. There will be lots of trial and error but as Watney says “I guess you could call it a "failure", but I prefer the term "learning experience".”

As the audience knows, reading The Martian kept them at the edge of their seat the entire time. Creating a theme park where they can experience the space age technology with similar tasks as Watney will help them relate to Watney’s struggle on Mars. Almost everyone loves technology and this is the best way to give them the experience of a lifetime. This theme park is not only for adults, but kids from school can come also. They can learn about the latest technology used in NASA, solve math and physics problems, and impress their teachers with their knowledge of rocket science. As technology is ever changing, the audience of this book can stay connected and involved with the author by having different experiences every time they visit and getting updates on the author’s progress on his new books. In the theme park however, the main attraction will be the 0G, 0atm. space room. 

POST#2

To me a book is an item used to store data. There are textbook and story books, but they are only important because of the content that is in them. I believe that books are like computers, they are only as useful as the software that is in them not the outside layer. When Nancy Jo Sales says that there is something special about books and their physicality I think she is the type of person that would judge a book by its cover since she is only interested on what is the layer of the book rather than the information in it. When I read a book on my e-reader vs a book, I can’t tell the difference. The only variation the e-reader has that a book doesn’t is that I can carry thousands of book everywhere I go. For a book though, it can get lost, stolen, and destroyed due to overuse unlike the e-reader which will have the books backed up into the computer even if it does get misplaced.

When Tom Piazza asks himself the question “Why is it important whether you get your information from a computer of some sort or from a physical book?” the bias is very clear. I would first start off saying that an e-reader is not a computer, and that it is rather a device used to carry information. When he talks about keeping tradition by reading physical books it doesn’t make sense. Just like how  e-readers are replacing books to make it easier for someone to read, people invented paper creating books that replaced stone tablet writing 1000 years ago because they wanted to make it easier for the reader, and since they got tired of etching words on walls. So, keeping tradition? You don’t see us writing everything on stone tablets, so we should accept technology as it changes.  

Blog #1: Why I read

I read to learn something new. I like reading science and technology books because at the end of the book I have learned something that will be useful later in life. I also like reading because it helps me improve my vocabulary and the speed at which I can read and comprehend. However, the main reason I choose to read is so that I can focus on one task for long periods of time. This helps relax my brain from over thinking. It also helps improve my focus which allows me to complete other tasks efficiently. I have an older sibling who reads books like it's her job and she has an incredible focusing ability. An average English teacher's vocabulary pales in comparison to her daily use of creative words. This is the main reason why I read. I want to have a level of vocabulary and focus that is greater than my sister's. Also it wouldn't hurt me to read for enjoyment but I am still working to that stage.