Reading is Fundamental

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

This novel was very confusing to me. The relationships that were built in this novel were out of the norm in my eyes. I didn’t think it was okay that Joe left his family to join the military. His mission was to fight against the Germans, but that did not work in his favor. I thought it was sad that Rosa was pregnant and Joe had no idea about it. I do not think it is okay for a woman to hide her pregnancy from the father of the child. Joe was stationed to be in Antarctica and ended up being one of the last men standing. It would have been devastating if Joe was to die not knowing that he had a child on the way. I think a lot of things were going on in Joe’s head because he lost his dear brother and couldn’t get his family to come to the states. What confused me the most was that Sammy, who was confused on his sexuality, ended up marrying Rosa. They both helped raise Tommy. In the end Joe was once again reunited with his son and former wife. He then moved in with Sammy and Rosa which confused me because he was once married with Rosa. The book was confusing in that sense, but it was really interesting to see they were able to be cordial with each other after all the lies.

Hard Rock Poem

Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane

I enjoyed reading this poem because it showed a transformation in the man’s life. He went from a vicious beast that was out of control to a calm and collective man. In the poem it says that he had surgery to fix his anger issues. In my opinion I think he had a reality check that made him realize that he couldn’t live life the same way. Drastic things have to happen to people sometimes for them to realize that there needs to be a change in the way that they live their life. The man went from a maniac to a man that is amused at others anger. He matured in life and didn’t allow negative comments to consume his life. I feel as though he finally realized that his anger will get him nowhere and that his anger was out of control. With the changes in his life, this may result in the changes of other people in the jail’s life. People are easily influenced by their peers and this may make others realize that their anger was probably the main reason why they ended up in the prison. This poem also taught me to not be judgmental because people that have been in prison can in fact change for the better.

A Good Man is Hard to Find

The title told it all in this novel. In this novel it talks about a family taking a road trip for a vacation. The grandma didn’t want to go to Florida because she believed that it was not safe and that something bad would happen. She wanted to go to Tennessee instead but her grandson convinced her to go on the road trip to Florida. On their way they come across a house and decided to stop by and that’s when things took a turn for the worst. I believe that people should follow their instinct especially when they have a gut instinct about something that could put them in danger. They came across a group of bikers that were murderers. At that point the family knew that their life journey came to an end. The sole purpose of this gang was to kill and that’s exactly what they did. One of the men said in the end “It’s no real pleasure in life.” I think his meaning behind that was that he doesn’t like what he is doing, but he does it because he feel he is obligated to that life style. The grandma forgave the man before she was even killed because she saw that’s not what he wanted to do and that he would regret it in the long run.

The cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado

In my opinion, I felt as though the theme for this novel was loyalty. There was a lot of betrayal in this novel. In the beginning I was confused as to what was going on because I didn’t understand why he would want to trap his friend down in the cellar to die. Fortunato was a manipulative man that convinced Amontillado to go down to the cellar for wine. He knew that was his weakness, he knew that he loved wine. Once Fortunato got him down to the cellar, he built a wall that would trap him and eventually kill him. This opened my eyes to a lot of things. It made me realize that not everyone is your friend. What you see on the outside may not be what it really is in the inside. They may tell you one thing but may mean another. I related to this novel in a way because I was once betrayed by a friend and it just made me become more cautious when it came to people. I am convinced that Fortunato is revengeful. In the beginning Amontillado made a comment and Fortunato was offended by it which forced him to act upon his anger. I do not agree that it is okay to seek revenge on anyway, but instead forgive them for their mistake and move on with your life.

The Yellow Wallpaper

This novel was a bit sad to read. I felt as though she just wanted people to understand her pain and what she was going through. No one wanted to understand that she was ill or didn’t want to believe it because they were ashamed. The woman was going through serious depression and was seeking for help. She would be suicidal which wasn’t acceptable by the husband. The husband in my opinion did wrong by leaving her in a room that made her go crazy. The main thing that ticked her off was the wallpaper and the color of it. There was many things wrong with the room, but the main thing that caught her attention was the wallpaper. I could relate to her in a sense of not being heard. Since I’m one of the youngest in my family, I am not really taken serious at times. There would be times when I would make a suggestion on a family plan, but people would say okay, but not really stick to my ideas. The lady kept telling her husband that she was ill and all he would say is that she wasn’t. I never understood why her family didn’t accept her writing her thoughts. I feel as though that in a way would have put her mind at ease because that could have been her way of venting. I believe that in the end she killed her husband just because she was fed up with him.

The hills have white Elephants

The Hills have White Elephants

This novel was interesting to read. I really wanted to know the outcome of the ending as to whether she would have her baby or not. The novel had many symbols to represent different meanings. I researched the meaning of a white elephant and many things popped up. I read that in certain cultures such as Buddhist, believe that a white elephant is the beginning of a new life or wealth or many other things. The beginning of a new life convinced me that in the end she probably had her baby. She was skeptical considering that the man threatened to leave her and all she wanted was happiness. The novel talks about the suitcase having many postcard stickers which may have meant they enjoyed to travel. The novel also refers to the guy as “The Man” and the female as “The Girl” which may have meant that they had a huge difference in age. It might have also meant that she could have been his mistress considering that he would never live with her or go home to her. In the end I believe that she kept the baby. She states “There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.” I feel as though she was telling the man that there is nothing wrong with her being pregnant and that she will be fine whether he is with her or not.