True Love Always Conquers *Spoiler Alerts*

           When you're like me and watch a lot of Bollywood movies you start to notice a common theme in all of them: true love conquers all. Recently I started to think about it and wonder if it is really true. Then the idea show up in the book I was reading, The City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. this book is about Clary, whose mother is in a deep coma that she put herself in to escape her evil husband Valentine. Clary loves Jace and just recently found out thats he is her brother and tries hard to not love him but can't do it. Jace feels the same way. however, in the after their love does work out.
           Throughout the book, Clary and Jace keep having awkward moments, considering they love each other but are brother and sister. Jace tries to flirt with Aline, a family friend but it just makes Jace and Clary's relationship worse. Jace and Clary both know they cannot love another person. Some conclusions I drew from these moments were that, no matter how much Clary and Jace love each other they now they can't be together because they are brother and sister and they are afraid of what others will think. After weeks of suffering like this, Clary mother comes out of the coma, she reveals that Jace isn't really her brother and it is someone pretending to be Aline's cousin Sebastian. after this Clary and Jace are both ecstatic. They can finally be together.
          What I think the author is trying to say is exactly what most Bollywood movies say, true love always does conquer all. Clary and Jace loved each other so much they were willing to do anything to be together. They were even considering to run away. In the end they didn't have to because they turned out not to be brother and sister and could be together. In short, if you love someone/thing it will eventually come your way.
         Today, I see this theory at work in other books such as Twilight and The Notebook, and as mentioned before in almost every single Bollywood movies made. Maybe in real life, love won't always conquer all and turn out the way you want but all you can do is hope that your love is strong enough to win.
         

Romeo and Juliet

            So far I am liking Romeo and Juliet the movie more than the book. The book is a bit hard to understand and from a very different time period. However what i found annoying in the movie was that while trying to keep everything modern, the script was left the same which kind of contradicts the whole movie.
           When I was reading the paper that Ms. Robbins gave us on Baz Luhrmann I noticed that he wanted to keep everything modern but left the script the same. I think that if the movie was in modern English with a touch of poetry, the movie would be better. what's the point of changing everything but the script. Old English is hard to understand and is out of date. the movie just seems weird with guns, new clothing, and cars but old English.
          Baz Lurhmann said that he knew that he would have to make his movie "hip and sexy" and change everything to make it modern, but by keeping the language the same it seems like there was no point in changing everything else. By keeping the language the same the movie contradicts itself. The movie would be better in regular English. However rest of the movie was well played out and did go well with the book.

Love Your Parents

            Most teeneagers don't really understand thier parents. They spend most of the time complaining about them and rolling thier eyes at them but don't understand them. this is what happened in my book, The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.
             The City of Bones is about how Clary Fray has the sight and can see Shadowhunters that kill demons. The night she first sees them Clary gets in trouble for coming home late. The next day she has a big fight with her mom and ends up coming home to her mom gone and a demon attacking her. After this Clary really regrets getting into a fight with her mom and starts appreciating everything her mom has done for her.
             These days I hear a lot of my friends talking about thier parents in a bad way just because they have gotten yelled or something like that. Most of them doesn't understand that your parents do so much for you and care about everything you do because we're young. It is our responsibility to give our parents respect for what they do for us. (SPOILER)
             By the end of the book Clary learns to give her mother respect even though she is in a coma and won't wake up. She realizes that everything her mother hid from her was for her own good and now just prays for her mom to wake up. A lot of kids need to have the same attitude and just love thier parents.

Mentor Blog Posts

http://booksupontheswiftofthewind.blogspot.com/2011/01/aurora-goddess-of-dawn.html?showComment=1295992820627

           What i really like about Anisha's poem is that goes so well with the painting she chose. I was there with her when she was does this poem and I could see the effort she was putting into it. All she wanted to do is make the poem sound so proffesional and make it go well with the painting and it did. Also with the beautiful descriptions and details she uses you can actually picture the painting in your head. Lastly the vocabulary she uses is just great.

http://ninamoransblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/poison-apples-poison-worms.html

            When I first read this blog I was immediately drawn in with her introduction. Also the questions that she asks throughout the post made me think more about the book even though I read it a long time ago. Also she is elaborating everything she talks about in her post which is important in a response. Lastly, I liked how her last statement was And that's where the Mysterious Benedict Society comes in, it was a really nice way to end her post.
           
http://benselablog.blogspot.com/2011/01/lady-looking-through-telescope-while.html

            There were a lot of things that I loved about Ben's post. I liked the perspective he used. Most people would do it form a third person point of view but he uses first person which makes it seem so real. Also the imagery he used really made me see the painting while I was reading the poem. Lastly I liked how Ben used rhyming but it didn't sound amaturish. When I try to rhyme it sounds like an amatuer wrote it but his poem is just great.

http://eveningswithdrfutterman.blogspot.com/

        I wanted to also incorporate Annie's posts into this but all of hers are too good to pick from. What makes them great is that her vocabulary is great and her writing is just beautiful. Her writing realy makes you think and after reading it you realize how smart and thoughtful she is.

Life is Peaceful

,   Water Lilies By: Claude Monet

Life is peaceful
with water lilies in a pond that doesn't ripple.
Life is peaceful
with chirping birds high in the trees.
Life is peaceful
with soft green grass to sit on.
Life is peaceful
with colorful flowers on trees that just bloomed.
Life is peaceful
with the sun high in the sky letting off happiness.
Life is peaceful
only in Claude Monet's paintings.

Unpacking "A Boat Beneath The Sunny Sky"

A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky

by Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll

A BOAT beneath a sunny sky,

Lingering onward dreamily

In an evening of July —

Children three that nestle near,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Pleased a simple tale to hear —

Long has paled that sunny sky:

Echoes fade and memories die:

Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,

Alice moving under skies

Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,

Dreaming as the days go by,

Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream —

Lingering in the golden gleam —

Life, what is it but a dream?

My Response
        Right after reading this poem I noticed that at first the mood is happyand tranquil but as you read on it gets more and more depressing. Also Lewis talks about memories die and how Alice haunts him phantomwise so I think the two are connected even though they are complete opposites. Another thing I noticed was that in the beginning of the poem it is summer, where everyone is warm and happy but soon it turns to fall, and fall is cold and messy. I think the author was using seasons and descriptions to change the mood.
        In one of the paragraphs Lewis Carroll talks about how memories are dying but he still gets haunted of Alice phantomwise so I infered that Alice was a loved one to him but she died. Also I think that he is forgetting some of the memories of her yet he get let go of her emotionally.
         After reading through this poem a couple of times I realized that one day you are with your loved one having a good time then next thing you know they are gone. You try to let go and still remeber the memories but it is hard to do.
         Overall, I think Lewis Carroll is trying to say that life is not a dream even though it can end suddenly. Life is real. It has its ups and downs and can end whenever God wants it to. Thus, you should enjoy life instead of hating every moment of it.

I am hungry for more Hunger Games!

           Over break I read Harry Potter and the Order of The Pheonix and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and after a while I got tired of reading the same type of writing, even though it was a series as great as Harry Potter. Then I remebered that my sister got a copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for her birthday and decided to read it. I heard that the book was really good but at the same time a bit depressing. I still wanted to read so I started right away.
           I immediately got into this book. I thought it perfectly resembled a dystopian society. It reminded me of City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, which also was a dystopia and one of my favorite books. Both these took place in the ruins of a place that is existing now. Also both have a heroine with a male sidekick.
           Katniss Everdeen isn't your average girl. She is the one who gets all the food for her family which is her mother and sister, Prim. Also she is very brave. Every year a name of a boy and a girl is picked from each of the 12 districts in Panem, to participate in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is where 24 teenagers are left in an arena with scattered supplies, and they all have to survive until only one person is left alive. This means the teenagers would have to try and kill each other. After Prim's name gets picked, Katniss decides to take over to save her sister. This type of "girl power" has been showing up in the book I am currently reading called the The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson. In this book Lisbeth Salander is the heroine.
           I think authors have an interest in dystopian societies because they are interesting to read about and make you wonder if the future really would turn out this way. Also I think that there is a high interest in "girl power" because now a woman can do whatever a man can and maybe even do it better, but most people don't yet realize it.
          The Hunger Games was a good combination of a dystopian society and showing that girls can do what guys can do. Also it has a interesting plot that makes you want to not let go of the book. I cannot wait to read Catching Fire.