Memoir Unit Blog #1

     If my life was chronicled as a memoir, I would include when I worked at a summer camp for eight weeks last year. This was a boy scout camp called chief logan reservation. I worked as a merit badge counselor for the nature area. This meant that I would teach young scouts about the local plants and wildlife. I would teach them how to recognize and identify different plants to avoid such as poison ivy, but also edible plants such as raspberries. I learned a lot through scouting and by working at this camp I was able to pass on what I had learned to others. It was a really good time for me and a great way to spend my summer. I made a lot of great friends. I plan on returning this summer and will be even better now that I have the experience of last summer.

Memoir Unit Blog #2

      I do not believe that what Pat Conroy said was true for my memoir. I'm reading Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. There has not been anything truly torturous in his childhood. He felt left out by his peers in school. He had a lisp and could not make an 's' sound, instead making a 'th' sound. He was embarrassed about this and avoided saying words with the letter s in them. He was likely teased by other students for this and for being different in other ways such as enjoying "girl activities" like baking cookies and singing. I do not think that he had a tortured childhood. However, these difficulties helped him learn about the world and shaped him into the man he is. I think everyone experiences some sort of torturous event as a childhood but the extremity of these varies greatly and one does not need to be a child soldier or similar traumatizing event to write a good memoir.

Societal Issue Blog #3

I enjoyed the book very much. I liked how the book was written, the story was told through the thoughts of the characters. It was like you could see directly into their concious. Sometimes it led to confusion on my part, but mostly it was an interesting way to see from Calvin or Conrad's points of view and how their thoughts differed on different subjects. It ended with Calvin and Beth separating, but also Conrad and Calvin made a great bond for the first time, and it ended on a hopeful note for those two. The one thing that I would change was that there were many unnecessary chapters that did not seem to progress the story at all. I think if these were taken out it would be a quicker story to read while keeping the same impact on the reader.

Societal Issue Blog #2

Currently I am on page 212 of my book. I am still enjoying this book, however I think it has slowed down. There has not been as much excitement as there was in the beginning when I was trying to piece together what happened to Conrad. By this point I have figured out that Conrads older brother died a year before the book takes place and that Conrad blames himself for his death. He attempted suicide and is sent to a hospital and that is where he is in the beginning of the novel. Conrad has starting repairing his relationship with his father Cal, but his mother Beth is growing more and more distant from both of them due to her cold attitude lack of sympathy for Conrad. My predictions are that Calvin and Conrad and Beth will have some kind of event that brings them all back together as a family. I am able to relate to the book because I have a similar outlook as Conrad and the book is written as if you were reading their thoughts exactly as they happen which helps you relate to it even more.

Societal Issue Blog #1

     I am on page 28 of Ordinary People by Judith Guest. I am really enjoying the book so far. I enjoy the character of Conrad Jarrett. He has had some kind of past traumatic event that has not yet been stated, but I think it is some kind of scare like a suicide attempt. He is trying to regain order and control like he had previously in his life. There is an internal conflict of him just trying to be normal after these events changed so much inside him. There is also external conflict in which the other characters in the book are all aware of this significant event in his life and they try to help him cope with it and get back on track. He says he doesn't want it and wants things to be normal but I think he is realizing that he will need it if he wants his life to return to normal. 

Life of Pi Blog #3

      I thoroughly enjoyed Life of Pi. It was a interesting book that offered new perspectives of religion and captivity. I enjoyed the beginning of the book where we learn about Pi's interests and critical events in his childhood. I thought how Pi defined himself as a Catholic, Muslim and Hindu was very interesting. Though there were a few dull points, overall the book kept me interested and it was an entertaining book. My favorite character was Pi. Because Pi was the narrator, there were not many other characters that were really built upon as much. He had many curious thoughts and ideas, and loved to listen to and tell stories. Even though this is a work of fiction, the author included many anecdotes in Pi's life that really make the book seem set in reality. I enjoyed this book and I think the movie did a good job presenting the story.

Life of Pi Blog #2

     I am currently on page 200 of Life of Pi. Pi is the main character and he is stranded on a lifeboat after a terrible shipwreck. He is not alone on this boat however, there is a Bengal Tiger that Pi has named Richard Parker aboard. Pi is in this lifeboat and all he wants is to be home with his family. The setting of a lifeboat may seem small, yet it is immensely large as he is in the ocean and anything could float to him or he could float anywhere. It makes the reader curious about who or what Pi will encounter next and where the ocean currents will take him. I am greatly enjoying the book, as stories of people lost at sea or wilderness survival have always interested me. I have seen the movie before reading the book so I already know the ending, but I know that the movie did not include everything that was in the book.