Short Stories

For my three short stories of my choice, I read "The Sniper," "The Return", and "Hills like White Elephants". I truly did not like "The Return". I just found it kind of boring and depressing. "Hills like White Elephants" was alright, but it was extremely confusing. I felt like the author wrote the whole story and then cut it in half to create an ending. That leaves us with "The Sniper". I liked this story a lot, so I'll use this for my thesis.

I thesis statement could be, "The man was an experienced soldier and was well prepared for the attack". He could shoot precisely from far away and still remain in secrecy. Also, when he got shot in the arm, he knew exactly how to care for and clean the wound. This could be argued against because he did make one crucial mistake: the man he shot was his brother. I think this would be a good topic for my thesis. 

Literary ElementsI

I think that the story with the strongest characterization traits is definitely "Waltz of a Fat Man." The way the author describes Noe is so realistic! I feel like I can see his fat stature and the way he looks into the mirror in denial thinking things like, " On his best days, Noe could make that weight look like muscles." The author does a great job of describing Noe.
Not only are there vivid descriptions, but so many things can be understood through Noe's actions. For example, "When he shook the hands of women, he did so vigorously, hoping to see movement on their bodies, some small adventure to take his breath, some nodding yes, some quite dance of the upper body. The first adventure of a man." Seriously? I would just like to say how pathetic that is, but anyway, the author says nothing about how desperate and kind of creepy Noe is. Through this action though, we can assume so many things. The author provides perfect examples of showing, not telling.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

So.... I would say this is probably the class I participate in the most. I pay attention in my other classes, but I don't really engage myself into class discussions. In English, I do participate a lot and will definitely put my say into the conversations. I guess it's easy to talk about because I understand it, and there's so many possibilities to discuss. In science and math, there's almost nothing to discuss. You either know it or you don't. There's hardly any variations, which I hate, so that's basically why I choose to participate in English.

I would say, if there's something to work on it's making sure I'm on time with all of my supplies. I'm usually either late or don't have time to go to my locker to get my binder. I manage without it usually, just writing all of my notes on a sheet of scrap paper, but it would be easier just to have all of my stuff together before I walk into the classroom. Overall, I personally think I am really good about participating in class on a regular basis.

"A Blank Sheet of Paper"

"A Blank Sheet of Paper"

I am a writer.

I simply write what I think.

That gives me my voice.

GENO: IN PERSUIT OF PERFECTION

I started a new book this week. It's an autobiography by Geno Auriemma, who in my opinion is the best women's basketball coach of all time. (sorry Pat) haha. He has won back to back national championships at UConn, consisting of some of today's best players in the WNBA, like Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird. The plot of the book is basically Geno going through the years starting from about 1980 through 2005. He talks about the individuals seasons, all the different players that impacted the games, and his feeling throughout his coaching career. It's super interesting!
I have actually enjoyed reading this week. Instead of just reading two and a half hours, I read four. That's seriously one of the first times I've ever read more that I was forced to. Oh yeah, back to the plot thing. I guess the different seasons are kind of like the episodes Dr. D mentioned in class: each having their on climax and  resolution. I  think I'm going to enjoy reading this book a lot. Geno is hilarious too! :)

Reading Response: Griffin and Sabine

Well this is supposed to be the second paragraph,  but my computed decided to freak out and make me type here. These books have postcards written to both Griffin and Sabine, with occasional letters. It's a sweet story, but gets very complicated in the end. Griffin begins to doubt that  Sabine is even real. Basically, he kind of goes insane. It's an out there book with some far fetched stuf f in it. I thought its was OK, but I bet some people would like it a lot.This week, I read a strange book. Well, books. It's a series of three short books, consisting of about twenty pages each. They are not normal pages though. The story is about the interaction of a famous artist and a fan in love with his work through postcards and letters. Over time, the two fall in love and plan to meet each other one day, but come across many obstacles in the
ir way.

Unite

My teammates and I were doing our running workout on Friday, when Coach K came outside and gave us an inspirational talk. He basically said that if he wants one thing, it's for us to be united as one. He wants us to play as a team and not focus on ourselves. One person can't win a state championship, it has to be won as a group. This will most likely be our main struggle as a basketball team this year.
Our team is full of very talented people, who are big scorers. We are all extremely close and love being around each other, but I worry that on the court, we'll forget all that and only focus on ourselves scoring our fifteen points. A team will never work like that. You have to be unselfish and as they say, be willing to "take one for the team." It's going to be our main obstacle to overcome this year.