My Sister's keeper

Kate's leukemia has a huge effect on her entire family. This, ability to cope, is one of the main themes in the book. Kate is very sick, and is constantly struggling to stay alive. She wants to be as normal as she can be but her first concern is obviously survival. Sara remains as strong as she can and is willing to do anything in order to save her daughter. Brian is very different. He uses his job as a firefighter to escape and distract himself from the family life. 


I do not think the Fitzgerald's were wrong in their decision because they just wanted to save their child. They do love Anna, but Kate is clearly their priority. Anna is there to save her and Jesse gets left behind which is why he has become so rebellious. It is understandable that Kate is important to them but they should make more of an effort with their other two children more.


Sara and Brian have very different parenting styles. Sara is much more concerned with the well-being of Kate than anyone else in the family and it is very noticeable. She only seems to show Anna love when she is trying to convince her to donate her kidney to Kate. Brian, on the other hand, pays attention to Anna.  He notices what she is thinking and what she wants to say.  

My Sister's Keeper 

Blog 1

Parenting is different, physically and ideologically, for every set of parents. Everyone has their own values and beliefs so it is very hard to tell someone that their style of parenting is bad or incorrect. Some  things, such as physical and verbal abuse, are obvious indicators of bad parents but it is not always so simple. 

In My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult, the parents definitely straddle the gray line between good and bad parenting. They did everything they did because they were just trying to help their daughter overcome cancer. They clearly care about their children but they also make it seem as if Kate is their favorite. Having a favorite, or most important, child is going to destroy the other children psychologically. 

http://www.cancer.net/coping-and-emotions/communicating-loved-ones/family-life

This page discusses how cancer effects family life. It explains how a cancer diagnosis changes individual roles and responsibilities within a family. Once Kate was diagnosed Brian and Sara had to switch their jobs from raising her to keeping her alive. They did the best that they could to keep her alive but they disregarded the effects it would have on the rest of their family. Anna is forced to struggle with the internal conflict of whether her parents love her or just want to use her for Kate. The article explains how honesty and communication are the two most important things to keeping a family together but in order to have those there needs to be trust. 

The Help

How does good parenting affect children?:

http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2009/sep/positive-parenting-can-have-lasting-impact-generations

The article says,

"Positive parenting can have lasting impact for generations" 

It explains how a good set of parents will help a child develop and learn properly and that as 

an adult that child will be a much a better parent

The quality of a child's parenting can dictate the rest of their life. Most children, by 

mistake or aspiration, grow up to be a lot like their parents. This is obviously because of DNA, however, it is also because of learned habit. Most young children do not know or see much outside of their home life. This means that whatever they observe becomes their reality and "the normal." This explains why a child who grows up watching his parents fight, argue and neglect will be a different adult than a child who grows up with supportive, endearing parents.

How does bad parenting affect children?:

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/bad-parenting-affect-children-5074.html

The article says,

"Ineffective parenting adversely affects a child's psychological, social and behavioral

functioning."

The most common effects are behavioral problems, poor coping skills, academic problems, 

mental heath problems

These children are effected mentally for the rest of their life because of their parent's 

inability to raise them properly but what did the parents do to cause these severe 

problems? Two of the most powerful examples of bad parenting are neglect and 

(physical/verbal) abuse. Children who do not have a supportive adult figure as a parent 

often look to other adults for compensation. This can happen at school with a teacher, or 

coach, but many of the children living in Jackson Mississippi had maids to turn to for 

support.  

Heroism

Heroism is defined on google as, "great bravery." I like how broad that definition is because I think that heroism has many different definitions and possible interpretations. Being a hero for society takes courage and determination. You have to be able to make a change, something that doesn't come easy, and that helps the public. Everyone, however, can be someone else's hero by just being themselves and that's the best part about heroism.  

This website discusses how heroism has evolved over time. The current definition may differ from that of the ancient egyptians, or greek, but heroes and heroism have existed for seemingly forever:

http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/qualifications-for-heroism-changed

In The Help there are multiple characters that demonstrate heroism. Aibileen shows heroism while taking care of and raising Mae Molby. All she had to do was be herself but for that child she was a hero. Minnie demonstrates heroism with the pie that she made. It took a lot of courage for her to do what she did and she did it because she felt like it was the right thing to do. Even if it was not morally correct she felt like it had to be done out of equality and that's heroism. Skeeter is the last character that clearly shows heroism and her's is the most impressive. Skeeter makes a decision that she knows contradicts some of the most important ideals of of her friends and peers. She does what she thinks is the right thing to do even though it was not easy.

Barack Obama is known as a hero to people all across the world for being the first African American president. He had the courage to do what no one else had ever done even though people told him that he would not be able to.

The Help

Can one person make a difference?

Whether it be in literature or real life one person can always make a difference. The question is very opinionated and the term "make a difference" is very broad so there is not a right or wrong answer. Most would argue that there are countless examples in history of a single man making a difference such as Martin Luther King jr. or Gandhi, however, others could argue that it was the army of people behind that person that made the real difference.

In The Help Aibileen make's a difference in the life of Mae Molby Leefolt. Aibileen goes as far as calling her, "her special baby."Mae Molby is neglected by her own mother and needs a supportive adult figure in her life. Aibileen does everything she can to raise Mae Molby's confidence and to make her a good person. She teaches her about civil rights and racial equality hoping to create change in the bigoted town of Jackson Mississippi. Mae Molby needed Aibileen to make a difference in her life but Aibileen needed Mae Molby as well. Aibileen's own son died tragically in an accident at work only months before she took the job with the Leefolts and Mae Molby does a good job being a physical replacement. These two individuals, undoubtably, make a difference in each other's lives.

Here are three links to pages explaining how one person can, or can not, make a difference:

http://www.aikentdc.org/One_Person_Can_Make_a_Difference.pdf

http://www.success.com/article/the-power-of-one-one-person-one-idea-to-make-a-difference

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2013/opinion/letters/09/27/one-person-can-make-a-difference/

Kite Runner
Third Blog



 How does society drive or impact the literature of the time period?


Society impacts the literature of a time period because most publishers just want money. These big publishing companies only publish books that they think will sell so that they can get more money. That means that when they are looking for the right book to publish they specifically look for books that will appeal and sell to society. They need to find books that people will find interesting. This being said, it can be very hard to predict which books will blow up and become a best-selling title.

People like books that they can feel emotionally attached to. Once a reader feels like he or she has a personal, or real, connection to the book and the characters in it they will want to read and enjoy doing it. Many kids say that they don't like to read or that books bore them, however, they might just not be reading the right books. Here is a list of the"Best Books of the 21st Century". Most of these books have strong, likeable protagonists who make the book enjoyable. If the main character of the book was annoying who would want to read it? On this list, The Kite Runner is second.

The Kite Runner is a great and enjoyable book for many reasons. Amir is a great voice to narrate the novel. He's a good kid, and eventually man, with good intentions. He makes mistakes which seem to personify him off the pages. People can relate to him. They see parts of their lives in his, maybe even feel like he's an old friend, and the emotional attachment begins. Not only do people feel for Amir, they feel for Hassan, Baba and other characters. Society is literature's sieve, sorting the worthy from the not, and The Kite Runner has been deemed more than worthy by society.


 

Kite Runner                                Second Blog

Why is childhood such an important time of life? When does it end?

Childhood is important because it creates the base layer for someone's character. Often subconsciously, the things that happen during childhood stick with us for the rest of our lives and affect our decision making. Childhood is a time to learn life-lessons and about yourself.  

 On any standard Amir had a privileged childhood. His dad was well known and he had more than enough money to live a happy life in Kabul. During his childhood Amir's biggest struggle was trying to please his father. He wanted to impress the mad he admired so much and it became his daily goal to do so. Amir entered the kite tournament that winter day to win it for his father. When he saw Hassan in the alley there was a part of him that wanted to help but his main focus was getting the kite for Baba. 

In a way Amir's childhood ended when he watched Hassan being raped in the alley. After that moment Amir had to live with so much guilt that he couldn't just enjoy being a child anymore. Hassan and Ali left and Amir had to watch Baba, the man he was just trying to please, suffer through this. Amir's childhood was over and replaced with a demon. That demon ate away at him and influenced him into trying to "make things right" as an adult.

Kabul (Amir's home city) 1970's vs 2000's:

                     

                     

The Kite Runner

First Blog

How do people cope when their lives are changed by forces they can not control?

Uncontrollable situations/forces can be either a nusience or a blessing. In these situations someone's true character comes out because all they can do is react to the uncontrollable situation. No two people will cope the same way because everyone has different motives driving their decision making. After a tragedy someone could become depressed and keep to themselves because they are so stricken with grief. Another individual might learn to cope through perfection, striving to impress. 

Hassan being raped was not an uncontrollable event or force for Amir. Amir had an opportunity to intervene, to have control and possibly stop Assef so his coping is different. Amir has to live with guilt because he did not take control when he could have and he knows that he made the wrong choice. This event changed Amir's life and he went through a lot of coping but it was definitely a controllable situation. 

Hassan learned how to deal with uncontrollable events very early in his life. Hassan's mother abandoned him and his father after his birth. This frequently upset Hassan and he coped with grief. Hassan was born into the life of a servant but this uncontrollable force never seemed to upset him. He liked where he lived and told Amir that it was his home. Hassan always seemed to be able to deal with what life threw at him until that day in the alley. That was something Hassan did not know how to cope with, possibly because Amir was not by his side to help him. Hassan may have been upset about his mother but he could always turn to Amir to be there and take his mind off of it. After Hassan was raped Amir abandoned him, and with Amir went Hassan's ability to cope. 

Final Persepolis assignment

Final Persepolis assignment

Uncle Anoosh

Characterization

In the book

In the book Anoosh gives more detail about his family and life. He talks about his children and how he and his wife got divorced because, "(She does not) know how to love." This detail does a great job characterizing Anoosh and making the reader feel a connection to him. It makes him an amiable character by letting many readers make personal connections to his family life. Anoosh also has a stronger relationship with Marji in the book making him even more likeable.

In the movie

In the movie Persepolis voices are frequently used as a characterization tool. Being a narrative, these voices have even more power and meaning. The voices tell the story from their own perspectives and it lets the reader feel as if the characters are talking to them. This is a really fascinating article by Linda Graham on the neurosciences of attachment:

http://lindagraham-mft.net/resources/published-articles/the-neuroscience-of-attachment/

The article explains that listening to and becoming accustomed to someone's voice gives a feeling of attachment. In Persepolis, Anoosh has a very relaxing and lulling voice which builds his character and makes the watcher feel attached. He's a war veteran and the voice was casted well to fit the character.

                                                     

                                                     Iggy Pop- The voice of Uncle Anoosh

Similarities

Both the movie and book do a great job using characterization techniques on Marji's uncle Anoosh. Persepolis being a graphic novel helps the reader to visualize the characters and scenes in the literature. Once the reader can visualize Anoosh they feel like they know him better. This is how Satrapi and the directer used faces and visual interactions for characterization.

 

Persepolis

Why is childhood an important time of life? When does it end?

Childhood is what defines somebody as an adult and a person. Things that happen at a young age can survive inside of someone and effect them for the rest of their life. The way we view and react to the events in our life as a young child often show what type of person we really are because children are not usually concerned with the political implications that are involved in decision making. This was very true for Persepolis as a child during the revolution. Persepolis liked punk rock and almost all western influences. People such as the Guardians of the Revolution told Persepolis that it was unbecoming of her to dress and act the way she did but she did not stop because she was only 

concerned with doing what she wanted to do. 

Childhood ends whenever you want it to. The chid inside of everybody lives forever, some just choose to mask it more than others. Some vicariously have a second childhood using their children. Others never grow up.

How do people cope when their lives are changed by a force they can't control?

No two people will react to the same event the same way. Every person is different and has different motives and objectives. Twin boys who were raised seemingly identically could have very different reactions to the same horrific or amazing event. If the twin's father died one of the two boys may be motivated and become very successful while the other could fall into depression. Coping with and overcoming an especially tragic event takes a special individual. 

http://cbldf.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/persepolis.jpghttp://hyperallergic.com/wp-

content/uploads/2013/04/persepolis.jpg

http://www.facecouncil.org/tournees/2008/PERSEPOLIS465F.jpg

http://contemporaryliterature2014.blogspot.com/2014/03/final-persepolis-assignment.html














http://www.daysofyorr.com

Blog Critique

This is a hockey blog about the Boston Bruins. The blog is very well written and visually entertaining. Every story has a set of pictures positioned in the text that add humor and substance. Sometimes the writer even uses gifs (very short videos) which are even more visually enticing.

Two recent gifs from the blog of second line winger Brad Marchand

 The blog has a colorful header, a sidebar full of links to previous blog posts and links to other Boston Bruins websites. As a Bruins fan myself I enjoyed the blog enough to consider following it on a regular basis. However, the writer clearly has a very biased opinion when it comes to the NHL and any fan other than a Bruins fan may not enjoy the blog with the sam enthusiasm. There are even gifs poking fun at Bruin rivals such as the Montreal Canadians.

Recent gifs making fun of the Montreal squad 

The writer uses a great combination of stats and sports facts with humor to make the posts informing and comical. The blog is useful to either check the outcome of a game you missed or to just hear the compelling humor of the author.