The Book Thief

As of right now I am on page 25 of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. So far I am enjoying it very much, though in some parts it's really confusing. I am still getting use to the fact that Death is narrating this book, a hard thing to imagine. Death is fair, agreeable, and sometimes even cheerful. It (don't know if I should refer to it as a he or a she) explains that it's one saving grace is distraction. Death makes distraction from his work his vacation. Death goes in further detail when he says, "Needless to say, I vacation in increments. In colors" (Zusak 5). Death explains that the worst part of what it does is watching what it calls "the leftover humans", in other words it can't stand to look at the ones "who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprise. They have punctured hearts. They have beaten lungs" (Zusak 5). Death describes that the book theif, otherwise known as Liesel Meminger, is an expert at being left behind, as he sees her three times. Death begins to tell the story of the book thief in part one. And that's where I left off.

In-text Citations and my Research Paper Topic

Though I believe that one should give credit where it is due, I think that all this citation business is just silly. I can understand the "Works Cited" at the end of a paper, but all the in-text citations are quite cumbersome to the writer. Besides if one has a "Works Cited" page, all their ideas expressed or quotations in their paper are already given credit, only it's just at the end of the paper, not in the middle of it. Plus, I believe that the reader of one's paper finds it annoying when half the paper is in-text citations. When one is reading a paper, they want to get to the meat as soon as possible, and with all those obnoxious in-text citations, it becomes quite difficult to do that. Sorry, I just had to vent. Anyways...
The topic I have chosen for my research paper is the highly debated death penalty. I've learned many different things about the death penalty, both pros and cons. I would have to say that I'm for the death penalty, though I can understand the opposition's views. The most fascinating thing that I have learned is that a major reason for concern of those who oppose the death penalty is the probability of innocent people being convicted and then killed for a crime they did not commit. My sources tell me that, while this is sometimes true in very rare cases, the number of innocent lives taken by escaped/released felons far out numbers the lives of innocent people, who were wrongly accused of murder and then killed. This fact helped me to lean towards the pro-death penalty view.

On the Waterfront

Overall I thought that the movie On The Waterfront was pretty good. The characters were very well played by the actors and actresses. The scene where Terry sees his brother dead was especially well done. Terry's emotion and anger was so real, it really gave the viewers a sense of what he was feeling. Also, I really enjoyed the scene at the end, when Terry walks into the work place after being brutally beat up by Johnny friendly's mobsters. It was a very powerful scene and I thought it rappe up the movie very nicely: finally the workers win. The best was seeing Johnny Friendly's face when he realized he'd been beat. He could no longer bully the workers around, for they were building self-confidence. Camera angles were also very well done. I felt that the scene directly after Doogan's death, where the priest is speaking in front of the workers with the mob listening in overhead, had very appropriate camera angles. Low shots looking up at the mobsters revealed their power and control over the workers, who were always shot from above. The particular low shot with the priest riding the lift up (after his conversation with the workers) symbolizes how he, by standing up for what he believes in, is doing the right thing and will therefore be "raised up" after death. In conclusion I thought this film was much much much better than The 400 Blows, which was dull and pointless.

Quarter Two Outside Reading

Well I haven't actually started my second outside reading book yet, but I know thatI'm reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. My sister has already read this book and it became her favorite book, besides Harry Potter of course :) So I'm hoping that I will enjoy it too. This is a quote from the inside cover of the book: "It's just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery..."

I'm really hoping that I enjoy this book because my sister builds it up to be so great, and even comparible to Harry Potter. The interesting thing about this book is that it is narrated by Death. I know, I thought that was weird too. The main character, a girl named Liesel Meminger, finds her obsession...books. She just cannot resist them, but in order to obtain them she must steal them from wherever they are to be found.

A final review was as follows: "Markus Zusak, award-winning author of I Am the Messenger, has crafted an unforgettable novel about the ability of books to feed the soul."

I can't wait to start this book :)

All My Sons

After finishing the play All My Sons by Arthur Miller, I had mixed feelings whether or not i liked the play. I'm sort of indifferent towards this play. Again I'm noticing a depressing theme with this source of literature. Why do we always read depressing books??? I thought the play was very interesting and it moved along at a pretty fast pace, but it was sad and nothing happy really happened through out the whole play. I thought the character of Joe Keller was very layered and complex. He knowingly committed a very horrible act that ended in the deaths of 21 pilots, and yet he thinks that he committed no crime. He thought that he was doing the right thing by sending out the faulty parts, because if he hadn't his business would've gone bankrupt and he wouldn't be able to provide for his family. At the end of the play Joe realizes the impact of his actions after reading a letter sent by Larry to Ann, where Larry says he wished that Joe were dead as punishment for what he had done. Joe, after reading this, recognizes the gravity of his actions and the people that were affected. Joe then commits suicide, not being able to handle his guilt.