The novel About a Boy by Nick Hornby shows how much someone can develop as a character/person. The thought that someone like Will would make a person up just to attain his selfish goals is appalling. Will uses his manipulative ways just so that he can meet women. Throughout his life, he lives as a lazy person who does not work for anything he earns. He uses the things around him that are tangible toward his advantage and does not think of anyone's feelings or how this would affect his lifestyle as a whole. It is remarkable that one person, Marcus, can truly change him. It is so unexpected that a 12 year old outcast can help this man realize that there are other things in life that are worth it even though they do not benefit one person. It was different to see a person like Marcus change an adult like Will and did it for the better.

Differences Between Push and Precious

After seeing the movie Precious, it inspired me to read the novel it was based on, Push by Sapphire. I wish that I had read the book first before watching the movie. I noticed a few differences between the novel and the movie. One difference was that in the novel, her father was brought up more compared to the movie. In the movie, the scenes with her father were only a few seconds long while he is a prominent figure who affected Precious' life. Another difference I noticed is that the novel depicted Precious' transformation and her seeking for help more in comparison to the movie. The movie showed a transformation but it was less apparent than the transformation in the book. The movie really showed the reality and concrete side of the book because you can actually see what is happening in Precious' life.

After I finished the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, I noticed many similarities between the novel and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. Characters from both novels had certain similarities with each other. For example, Millie reminded me of the patients in the hospital. Millie and the patients in the hospital both succumb to everything that is said to them. Millie does not read books while the patients do everything the Nurse says. The character Faber in Fahrenheit 451 reminds me of McMurphy because of the guidance he gives Guy Montag. Faber guides Guy Montag into acquiring more knowledge and letting him be his true self just as McMurphy did to Chief Bromden. Another character resemblance that I noticed was the character shift of Chief Bromden and Guy Montag. Both changer their attitudes toward life and take bigger risks after their guidance. Nurse Ratched is similar to the society and Beatty because they all have the power in society in which they try to control each individual's rights.

After finishing the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, I noticed a major theme of conformity that kept presenting itself throughout the novel. As I got farther along in the book, I noticed the idea of individual vs. society. The protagonist in this novel is named Guy Montag who is a fireman. For a living, he burns books because it is against the law to read or even have books. In their society, books are viewed as danger because it causes wonder and curiosity within people. Just by burning books, Montag conforms with society in believing that books are worthless. Though as the story progresses, it is revealed that Guy Montag has a sudden curiosity in books and starts to read them. While he starts to break from his conformist ways, his wife, Millie. She refuses to believe books are worth anything and decides that her husband should not be engaging in such activity that could get them in trouble. She conforms with society by following an absurd law of being forbidden to read books. Overall, there is a change within Guy Montag's perspective on books and his ways of life.

Thought On The Picture of Dorian Gray

I thought the classic, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was interesting in that it had many surprises throughout the book. It also contains many themes and messages that show that being superficial will only end in something negative. I think that the classic is, in a way, connected to the movie Beauty and the Beast. It is related due the both characters being self absorbed and caring for their outer appearance more than their true being. This classic also relates to Macbeth and Antigone. It connects to the play, Macbeth by Shakespeare, because Macbeth is greatly affected by his surroundings and becomes more corrupt and violent as the play progresses. This is also true in The Picture of Dorian Gray where Dorian continuously tries to hide his crimes and becomes more persistent in hiding his flaws that actually appear on the painting. The classic also relates to Antigone because Kreon is given power and misuses it. Dorian is given his youth and beauty and he uses it in a way where he is always getting the advantage and to excuse his immoral behavior. Overall, I liked The Picture of Dorian Gray and it made me realize that Classics are not as boring as I thought.

The Ending of Dear John

Referring to my last post about this book, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this book was no the way I imagined it to be. In my last post, I mentioned that the book had a typical love story and that it had a plot that was predictable. As I was reading the book, I thought that after John came back from the way, Savannah would still be waiting for him no matter how long he was away for. In comparison to the beginning of the book, I felt that they would be inseparable and would end up together no matter what. To my surprise, it was the opposite. They did not end up together though there were undeniably feelings still there when they met each other again. To my dismay, my expectations of this book having a fairytale ending was crushed when I found out Savannah was married to another man. John obviously still had feelings for her throughout the book and there was still an attraction between the two. I should have expected a sad ending though due to Nicholas Sparks' other book which also have a sad ending. Overall, I liked this book because of the surprises throughout.

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

In the book "Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks, the main character, John is in the army and he quickly falls in love with a girl named Savannah. He then becomes friends with her friend named Tim, in which they all spend time with each other. After reading about the events that take place between John and Savannah and how he must leave her to go serve in the army, I feel that I can predict the plot of the story. Also, I feel that the story of love in this book is very unrealistic. The relationship between Savannah and John seem to be perfect and that nothing can tear them apart. The only con of their relationship is that he must leave her and be deployed to a place due to his participation in the army. It is sad to see John and Savannah part and it is interesting to see the relationship between John and his father. Also, how Savannah is involved and greatly affects John's relationship with his father.