Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was based in the times of the great depression. Everyone was traveling around just looking for a place to live, eat, and sleep. Jobs were hard to come by.
Having a dream to have his own land land, George did any job that needed being done. His friend Lennie was a big guy and did most of the heavy lifting. Together these two were going to buy some land and be their own bosses.
Turns out Lennie is not the brightest crayon in the box, and he likes to touch soft furry objects such as animals and nice hair. This gets him and George into a lot of trouble later in the book.
George ends up going his separate way with Lennie but not in a typical manor. You will have to read the book to see what I mean.
Though there is some language in the book, it conveys a very strong message about life during the Great Depression. It is a short easy read and I recommend it to everyone that is not offended by language.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sophmore Year
Being a Sophmore was almost like starting school all over again. I was finally in high school. I remember grade school like it was just yesterday so the time really seemed to fly by fast.
This year went by super quick except during basketball season. A 4-18 record will make any season slow to a crawl.
I learned a whole lot this year but especially in math because I learned how to think. Mr. Sparks is one of the best teachers I have and will have.
This year was really fun and quite a learning experience. I am ready to be a Junior and then finally the big Senior because I learned as a Sophmore how to get through high school.
This year went by super quick except during basketball season. A 4-18 record will make any season slow to a crawl.
I learned a whole lot this year but especially in math because I learned how to think. Mr. Sparks is one of the best teachers I have and will have.
This year was really fun and quite a learning experience. I am ready to be a Junior and then finally the big Senior because I learned as a Sophmore how to get through high school.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Digital Fortress review 430 pages
Although Dan Brown is widely known for writing Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code he also wrote two other very good books one of which is Digital Fortress. This book is based widely on espionage, action, and romance.
The NSA’s super code breaking computer TRANSLTR is at serious risk for becoming obsolete. A former NSA programmer has written an unbreakable code that will render the six billion dollar computer useless. The only way to stop it is to find the kill code.
The what was supposed to be a peaceful weekend for the soon to be married couple turned into a fight for their lives half-way across the world from each other. Both are fighting against a National Security breach in two very opposite ways.
This book displays some sexual and gruesome content so I would only recommend that mature audiences read this book. Once you start reading, though, it is very hard to stop.
The NSA’s super code breaking computer TRANSLTR is at serious risk for becoming obsolete. A former NSA programmer has written an unbreakable code that will render the six billion dollar computer useless. The only way to stop it is to find the kill code.
The what was supposed to be a peaceful weekend for the soon to be married couple turned into a fight for their lives half-way across the world from each other. Both are fighting against a National Security breach in two very opposite ways.
This book displays some sexual and gruesome content so I would only recommend that mature audiences read this book. Once you start reading, though, it is very hard to stop.
In The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros the lives of poor Latinos is portrayed. Being made of many very short chapters over various subjects this is a vignette of Esperanza’s life in Chicago.
Moving from place to place Esperanza and her family never really settle down until they buy their house on Mango Street. That house is where Esperanza spent a majority of her childhood growing up.
This book shows how she makes friends and foes. Also described is here school life and life as an adolescent.
I read The House on Mango Street in about two hours so it is one of the shortest books I have every read. All the characters and places are described vividly so it is easy to read and follow.
Moving from place to place Esperanza and her family never really settle down until they buy their house on Mango Street. That house is where Esperanza spent a majority of her childhood growing up.
This book shows how she makes friends and foes. Also described is here school life and life as an adolescent.
I read The House on Mango Street in about two hours so it is one of the shortest books I have every read. All the characters and places are described vividly so it is easy to read and follow.
The Giver review
In The Giver by Lois Lowry a boy by the name of Jonas is different from the others in his community. He has the power to see beyond. He senses that he is different, but he cannot describe how he is different.
In his community there is one person that holds all the memories and he is called the Receiver. When the Receiver ages a new Receiver is chosen and the current one becomes the Giver.
After being selected as the new Receiver, Jonas sees the extremely wise Giver everyday. This is where he learns that he can see color. Yes he did not know he could see color because the community he lives in cannot see color.
He also learns many different things and ideas that his community keeps secret and he starts to dislike the people that live there. He knows, though, that they cannot help having these ideas for there were raised to believe them.
The Giver was a pretty easy and quick read. I recommend that everyone above the age of ten read this book.
In his community there is one person that holds all the memories and he is called the Receiver. When the Receiver ages a new Receiver is chosen and the current one becomes the Giver.
After being selected as the new Receiver, Jonas sees the extremely wise Giver everyday. This is where he learns that he can see color. Yes he did not know he could see color because the community he lives in cannot see color.
He also learns many different things and ideas that his community keeps secret and he starts to dislike the people that live there. He knows, though, that they cannot help having these ideas for there were raised to believe them.
The Giver was a pretty easy and quick read. I recommend that everyone above the age of ten read this book.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Animal Farm Review
In Animal Farm by George Orwell—which is the pen name for Eric Blair—the Russian Revolution is depicted in a comical manner. Many famous people in history are depicted as animals overthrowing the farmer Mr. Jones, who is portraying the czar Nicholas II.
Old Major, the old prize winning hog, held a meeting just before he died to tell of a dream he had the night before. In this dream he recalled the words to a song called The Beasts of England. This song put the thought of rebellion into his head and he passed this along to the other animals.
The pigs being the wisest took charge of the rebellion. I thought I was ironic how some big names in history are portrayed as swine. Once the pigs took control after Mr. Jones was removed, they all got power hungry and were beginning to turn corrupt.
It seems amazing that none of the animals rebelled against the pigs but that is how it happened in Russia. No one could really figure out what exactly was going on. They just worked because the more powerful people told them to.
Animal Farm is a relatively easy read if you can read a little bit deeper into the meanings the book is representing.
Old Major, the old prize winning hog, held a meeting just before he died to tell of a dream he had the night before. In this dream he recalled the words to a song called The Beasts of England. This song put the thought of rebellion into his head and he passed this along to the other animals.
The pigs being the wisest took charge of the rebellion. I thought I was ironic how some big names in history are portrayed as swine. Once the pigs took control after Mr. Jones was removed, they all got power hungry and were beginning to turn corrupt.
It seems amazing that none of the animals rebelled against the pigs but that is how it happened in Russia. No one could really figure out what exactly was going on. They just worked because the more powerful people told them to.
Animal Farm is a relatively easy read if you can read a little bit deeper into the meanings the book is representing.
Techie Tools
Although I do not like blogs a whole lot I actually find them very useful when I am trying to communicate and collaberate with my fellow classmates.
I find that blogs are a very good way for students to do homework and such without having to actually turn in a finished paper to the teacher. We as a class can just post our blogs and have the teacher and other students grade and comment on them.
Also, blogs help students learn to use different kinds of internet tools. These tools are normally not easy to learn how to use, but once you figure out how to use them correctly the outcome is very rewarding.
I find that blogs are a very good way for students to do homework and such without having to actually turn in a finished paper to the teacher. We as a class can just post our blogs and have the teacher and other students grade and comment on them.
Also, blogs help students learn to use different kinds of internet tools. These tools are normally not easy to learn how to use, but once you figure out how to use them correctly the outcome is very rewarding.
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