Pride and Prejudice

Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen
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Long time no blog. The reason? I've been reading this here wonderful book.

I tried reading this book when I was in middle school, I believe. It didn't work out very well; I couldn't handle the language and gave up halfway through. Still, my cousin bought me the movie and I liked the story. This year, I decided to give it another try.

I had a rough start on this book. When I began to read the first chapter, I wasn't yet used to her language, and it confused me slightly. As I progressed, though, her sentences' phrasing came more naturally to me and their speech didn't confuse me as much.

As the story progressed, I found myself increasingly enthralled by it. How human the plot is compared with Jane Austen's wonderful writing makes for a very good read, and it seems as though Jane Austen is one of your friends that complains about guy problems.

Although this is undoubtedly what some would call a "girly" book, don't let that scare you male gender away from the book. Jane Austen's writing may still spur you to think about which character you're most like, and if there's- for example- an Elizabeth Bennet for you.

Something that you need to take into mind is the period that Austen lived in- pre-Victorian times, before Charles Dickens. The way she phrases her sentences puts the emphasis at the end, instead of the beginning as we do now. The culture then was also extremely different from what it is now, and I find it very interesting.

Reading this book helped me in how I view things and how I write; it facilitated writing one of my character's speech (He was from the 1600's, and for a while I had him speaking like educated individuals do now. Finding out how Austen's characters spoke helped me correct his syntax.) and had me begin to keep an eye open for chivalrous individuals.

Overall, Pride and Prejudice was a great read, and I hope to read more of Jane Austen's books in the future. The Masterpiece Theater version of the book- with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle- was also a very good movie. I believe it captured the overall sense of the book, and their use of quotes from the book itself helped contribute to that feeling. I would definitely recommend this book to someone, especially if you enjoy reading a good romance novel.



Question to discuss; Would you marry for love or money? (Both isn't an answer, unless you're Elizabeth or Jane.) Why? Also, do you believe that gentlemanly and educated ideals mentioned in the book are still around today, or are they gone?

LETTER TO AN AUTHOR; Yann Martel

Hello everybody!

This is going to vary a little bit from my usual posts. I'm submitting this letter to Letters about Literature, and I thought that I may as well share it. If you like this, I might even write a couple more to other authors of books that I'm going to read.

Now that my explaining is out of the way, I hope you enjoy this!

In case you were wondering, my normal post about the Life of Pi is over here.

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Dear Yann Martel,

What could a fierce tiger and a personal flaw have in common?

Your book, The Life of Pi answered that question: They can both be a channel to show us the meaning of life. The happiness of my life does not lie in simple comfort. Instead, it lies in involving myself in the lives of others, and engaging myself in a battle against my own weakness.

Pi’s life went from something ordinary in India to two hundred and twenty seven days fighting for survival in a lifeboat with a tiger. Fate turned his peaceful youth upside down in the blink of an eye. Only when that happened did Pi realize how much his happiness was associated with his family. And not only that, he was also forced to see how much his very existence depended upon a fierce creature he used to fear—a tiger named Richard Parker.

After Pi’s family was swallowed by the storm in the ocean, Pi’s life completely changed. For two hundred and twenty seven days, the lives of Pi and Richard Parker are tied together: Richard Parker got food from Pi, and Pi found a reason to survive in Richard Parker. Everyday Pi tried to find ways to feed the tiger. This daily routine was set up originally because of Pi’s fear of Richard Parker. Gradually it evolved into a rewarding activity with pleasure generated by the satisfaction of another living creature. They both knew how they depend on each other —Pi acknowledged it through his narration in the book, and Richard Parker with his snorting sound, prusten.

I see three main characters involved in Pi’s life in the ocean: Pi, Richard Parker, and the ocean. Pi and Richard Parker are two creatures coexisting and struggling to survive. Meanwhile, the ocean torments them. It gives Pi boils and half-drowns Richard Parker in storms. It takes away their food and water and then grudgingly gives them barely enough fish for sustenance.

As I finished reading your book, I noticed something that I never understood before: Not only does a person’s happiness depend on other people, but sometimes it is manifested through something that he thinks is frustrating, onerous, or even fearful. The revelation that came after my reading made me see some of my daily activities from a new perspective.

Basically, these activities deal with people. I cannot grasp the meaning of my life without other people, just as Pi’s life would be pointless and empty, and probably over, without Richard Parker.

I started tutoring three younger elementary school students two years ago. I accepted the job because these kids are family friends and their parents asked for help, and I thought it would be nice to have my own income. Over the past two years, I have come to realize what an impatient person I am. I don’t blame myself. I have a busy life—school work, marching band, music lessons, and many extracurricular activities. To me, tutoring was just another job. These naughty boys got on my nerves, and I became annoyed at times.
The day after I finished reading your book, the boys came for their lessons. After I helped them with their homework, I pulled out the Life of Pi. I told them the story and read a few paragraphs to them. They were enthralled. Seeing the sparks in their eyes and listening to their comments about the story uplifted my spirit. I suddenly felt that instead of me helping them, we were helping each other. They made me feel happy and fulfilled. The tutoring sessions were no longer just a source of income—they actually gave some concrete meaning to my existence: All the years that I’ve been in school, I’ve been working hard to get good grades and seeking to excel in all the activities I participated in. But what are the good grades for if I am a lonely person?! Yes, helping others takes time and entails hard work, but it’s through the time and hard work that we establish a bond as Pi and Richard Parker did.

This is the first time a book has made me look at my tutoring sessions in a different way. My students and I are like Richard Parker and Pi, and my impatient personality is like the ocean. I must fight against my personal flaw to help my students learn, and my students, in turn, help me in this battle. I’ve been enjoying my tutoring experience like never before, and I see my life and everyday activities in a much more positive way.

Thank you, Yann Martel. Your book, Life of Pi, taught me how to view various facets of my life and my adversaries. As a result of that, my tutoring experience has been much more pleasant. At the same time, I have become more appreciative of everything around me that gives me happiness.

Truly,
Makea Luzader

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

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I'm not going to write as much about this book as I do about other books, but that doesn't make it any less amazing or enthralling. Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman living in Baltimore City, Maryland. She developed cervical cancer and died soon afterwords, but her cancer cells became the first "immortal" cells.

I first heard about this book from my honors biology teacher last year when we were going over genetics. The whole topic had interested me, so I thought that this book would most likely be very interesting as well.

I was right. It tells about the story of the woman behind this amazing breakthrough; the unknown person who helped scientists and doctors develop so many of today's life-saving cures. It was amazing, knowing what her cells had led to and hearing her family's story.

If you're interested in genetics or biology, this book would be interesting. It doesn't say too much about exactly what her cells led to, but I believe that learning about the history of the woman behind HeLa is just as interesting as learning what her cells led to.

Angels and Demons

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
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By far Dan Brown's most suspenseful book, this book had me biting my fingernails. The chase was haphazard, dashing from famous Italian place to famous Italian place. The whole time I found myself thinking of who the killer was, jumping from idea to idea. Another interesting thing is the involvement of CERN--a huge scientific facility that my family members used to work at.

This book made me wince, then stare in awe. It was similar to The Lost Symbol, another book that I blogged about, yet different. It takes place on another continent and, besides Langdon, has a different set of characters. In a way, I missed the characters that were in this book. They died or disappeared, their absence in The DaVinci Code going unexplained.

Although the book contained some scenes that may be considered disturbing, it was amazing. It kept me entwined in its words, lost in its story. I was urging Langdon to do certain things with that extra knowledge that a reader always gains. It made me want to jump into the book and help him first save the cardinals, then save Vittoria. It pained me to be unable to do that.

The ending and revealing what had actually transpired was heartbreaking. I felt my heart go out to the "bad guy," although we're supposed to dislike him. Faith and shock had clouded his logic, and the revealing of this shadowy, evil figure was definitely surprising and unexpected.

If you've read any of Dan Brown's other books, this one has the same general style. Unlike many other Dan Brown books, though, this one involves the public, making it easy for you to imagine that you were witnessing it. People flock to the crime scenes. It makes for a wonderful read, and I would definitely recommend it to people.

The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
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This book, like so many other Dan Brown books, is filled with suspense and kept me on the edge of my seat. The return of Langdon and the normal, twisting plot of Dan Brown's books seemed to welcome me. The involvement of the Freemasons and the CIA piqued my interest, completely wrapping me up in the story. I was enthralled by the harrowing adventures of Katherine Solomon and Robert Langdon as they were pursued by the mysterious Mal'akh, a figure whom we learn more and more about as the story progresses.

The ending of the story gave my heart an unexpected squeeze. It was a spin on the plot that I hadn't expected from Brown. I was used to his changes in the stories, but not one of that nature.

The change in location made the story closer to home. The location moved from Europe--Brown's other two Langdon books (Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code) had taken place in Italy, France, and England--to Washington D.C, a place not too far from my own home that I had visited before. Many landmarks I remember seeing in field trips and various visits, and my brain often went off on tangents about my memories of locations mentioned in the book. Other readers who live near D.C may enjoy looking at the supposed location of "the Word" the next time they visit our capitol.

Just like all of Dan Brown's books, this book was filled with suspense and absolutely wonderful. It was well-written and very cleverly planned out, making a great read.

The Life of Pi

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

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So, after watching the movie, I decided to read the book. The movie itself moved me; the story was absolutely touching. I know from experience that books are often better than the movies, so I immediately dove onto the book.

The beginning seemed to move fairly slowly. The narrator spoke a lot about zoology for many chapters, although a lot of facts were amusing and/or interesting. Pi, whose nickname sprouted from a mispronunciation of his full name, Piscine, describes his life in India and the decision that his father made to move to Canada.

He knew that moving to another country would change things, but he had absolutely no idea how drastically.

Pi is revealed to be an eager-to-learn boy, very spiritual and wrapped up in religions--plural. This spiritual mindset differed from his father's ideas. "The Greater Good and the greater Profit are not compatible aims, much to Father's chagrin." While his father believed in monetary power and science, Pi turned to God.

This book reveals the strength of faith, and, although I'm atheist, it moved me. Besides that, for those of you who don't want to even have a brush with spiritual ideas, it also shows how much living beings depend on each other. Richard Parker is a full-grown male Bengal Tiger, who got swept off of a sinking ship onto the lifeboat that Pi was trapped on for the next... eternity, it seemed. Without Richard Parker, Pi's morale would have sunken very quickly. He had lost everything; it seemed as though he would be stuck on a lifeboat with an ugly, evil hyena. On top of that, his family was at the bottom of the Pacific in a drowned, dead zoo of a ship. Both his salvation and his ever-present source of fear came in the form of this tiger that paddled through the sea to get to the lifeboat.

It made me think about how much I loved my home. Home is "Strange in a familiar way, familiar in a strange way." Plain can be beautiful, and complicated can be dull. It helped me appreciate what I have more than I already do, and I'm glad that I don't have to abandon my ideas and struggle to survive like Pi had to during his 227 days at sea, stranded on a lifeboat with a hungry, terrifying tiger.

This book was absolutely amazing, and just seemed to get better and better as I read.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to someone.