Dracula: Better than Twilight?

After the numerous vampire books (Twilight, Vampire Academy, Marked, Vampire Shrink, Vampire Diaries, etc) I have read, I'm finally reading Dracula by Bram Stoker.

I initially chose this book to fulfill the 19th century novel requirement and Dracula seemed much more interesting than the other classic books. So far, I like the book. It's really interesting reading a book that I have so much prior knowledge about. Dracula set the standard for a classic vampire: sleeps in a coffin at night, no reflection in the mirror, and, of course, sucks blood. Modern vampire novels never fail to point out that the new vampires are not like Dracula. In Twilight, when Bella went over to Edwards house, he reminded her that they do not sleep in coffins (insert awkward Bella laugh). The most important detail in Dracula that makes it so different from modern vampire novels is the atmosphere and mood of the story. Jonathan Harker, the prisoner of Dracula, is scared out of his mind; he is not captivated by the vampire's extraordinary beauty nor under some mystical spell. After all, I'd be pretty scared too if a vampire was going to suck my blood and slowly kill me. Furthermore, the author does a good job of this scary mood. It feels like I'm in some horror movie. While I'm reading the book, I imagine that I am locked up with Jonathan too and when I hear the door unlock and open by Dracula I feel fear.

P.S. The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead are still the best vampire novels ever written.

-Stephanie Kim

Favorite Poem Project

I understand that this topic has been popular among the various blogs, but I want to add my personal thoughts and opinions about this project.

Admittedly, I was not very fond nor excited about the idea of recording myself reciting my so-called "favorite poem", explaining its literary merit and why I personally favored it more than any other poem, and being projected on the big screen.  After all, I'm terrified of public speaking, uncomfortable being the only person in the spotlight at a certain moment, and discomforted to see my face or hear my voice on a screen.  However, the more and more I dug into the project, I found it to be personally enriching. I think the reason I always found poetry to be dull is because teachers in the past usually force feed us these poetic works and teach us how to like it.  Upon personal research, I was able to find poems that related to me, and thus, find my favorite poem.  Here it is:

The End and the Beginning, by Wislawa Szymborska

After every war
someone has to clean up.
Things won’t
straighten themselves up, after all.

Someone has to push the rubble
to the sides of the road,
so the corpse-laden wagons
can pass.

Someone has to get mired
in scum and ashes,
sofa springs,
splintered glass,
and bloody rags.

...http://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/szymborska_su97.html 

To save space, you can read the rest at the above link.  This poem appealed to me for quite a few reasons. The major one, though, is that it broadened my perspective.  I've always been trained to think big picture--I attribute that to the scientist in me.  However, this poem persuaded me that the most significant impacts made by certain situations do not always have to deal with the cause-and-effect relations.  In this poem, while the world is concerned about "the next war", these innocent war bystanders are left to pick up the pieces and recover from such traumatic experiences.  I learned through this poem that many events in my life, though less tragic than dealing with the aftereffects of war, can be better analyzed and understood.  Instead of pondering how an action of mine can affect a broad spectrum of people, I think about the personal implications of such an action. This is a valuable outlook to learn before heading off to college!

-Christopher Lee

Look to the Future, Leah Harlow

Look to the future
Detach from the past
Let the people go
Start a new this time
Look to the future
Love like it’ll last
Dream like it’s forever
No move envy
Look to the future
Have the star life
Learn from others
Take it in
Look to the future
Be proud with yourself
No more lies
No more disguises
Look to the future
Solve the unresolved
Be someone’s firefly
Stop living for yourself
Look to the future
Be the person
You dream to be
Stop fantasizing
Look to the future
It’s only gets brighter
From here on out
Detach from the past
Look to the future

This was the poem I used for my video. I chose this poem because I liked the message: look to the future. In life, we constantly dwell on the the past, obsessing over mistakes and regrets. However, because life is so short, we have no time to do this. The future is what we work for and holds all our dreams and success. In this time of our lives, the future consumes our daily life. College is the gateway to our future. Sometimes, I feel like I think about the future more than I do of the past. Maybe I should look to the present instead.

-Stephanie Kim

Book Review: Animal Farm

Orwell, George.  Animal Farm (New York, NY: Penguin Books Ltd., 2000), 112 pp.
Reviewed by Christopher Lee, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.


I decided to revisit this novel after reading it my sophomore year. I wanted to see how the context of this novel has changed after two additional years of education.


First off, I am definitely glad I did.  Revisiting this novel after two years allowed me to see things that were not as clear as when I read Orwell's work the first time.  Since Animal Farm is Orwell's allegory of the birth of Soviet Communism, including the subsequent revolutions, new "rules", and corruption, it really does the novel justice if the reader has a general understanding of this history. It makes the setting, for instance, more clear.  The Farm is an allegory of Russia, and these animals work "equally" on this farm.  The parallels grow clearer and clearer as the novel progresses.  Orwell's decision to equate the Communist nation to a farm is brilliant, considering many Russians were forced into collective farming during this time period.  


As the novel progresses, these original tenants of "Animalism" become more and more disintegrated and corrupted.  There are many uprisings throughout that challenge the leadership of each animal. While each animal is to be "equal", this is clearly not true as we learn that the horses work harder and more diligently as the pigs become more lazy and providing by "supervising".  A few of these greedy pigs are the ones who break down the original tenants agreed upon by the primary farm animals.  The rest of the animals are left to figure out what they must do to create "equality" again.


This novel was one of my favorites two years ago, and it remains one of my favorites today.  The creativity and ingeniousness in this novel is truly remarkable.  While one may think this novel is childish or immature for its subject, the reader must keep in mind that this is merely an allegory of Russian Communism, a surprisingly accurate one, as well. And since this is historically accurate, the novel is surely plausible. 


I sincerely recommend this novel for anybody looking for an easy, yet informative quick read.  Make sure you do your research beforehand.  It'll surely enhance your experience.


-Christopher Lee

Wintergirls #2

Sorry for the late update. There has apparently been some confusion since I didn't spend much time writing the last post. Cassie started seeing Lia, like if someone was seeing a ghost. She talked to her often and even played crosswords with her. At times I really believed that Cassie was seeing her, but then had to question myself since Cassie was at such a vulnerable state. I think Anderson incorporated this just to show how stressful and overwhelming it is to go through what Cassie is going through.

In the end, we are forced to make up our minds through two polar perspectives. 1. Cold Society: "We can't believe that a mentally unstable person was actually seeing her dead friend." 2. Naive Crazy Person: "She was seeing her. It was real. But what's the point? No one will believe me."

-Stephanie Kim

Fear is What We Fear the Most

As I am finishing up Native Son by Richard Wright, the novel has forced me to ponder what emotion drives our nation the most. The main character Bigger Thomas is driven by fear. He lives his life, often makes terrible decisions, and is at one point ultimately broken all by his fear. Those around Bigger also seem to act upon their fear is well, whether it be of Bigger or of what society may think. Native Son has made me wonder, what is the most moving emotion upon people? Why does fear have such a choke hold on society? Whether it be financial and economic scares or a new discovered disease among our food intake, fear seems to get people to evaluate their lifestyles and make major decisions, good or bad, no matter big or small. But why is it fear that we fear the most?

-Jasmine C

Invisible Man Book Review

Never have I read a novel as powerful and remarkable as Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Taking place nearly half a century ago, he beautifully paints an abstract picture of America and the differing societies of the North and the South in the 1930's. Ellison's timeless classic is so much more than just a powerful storyline but has also changed the shape of American literature as we know it.

The Ellison's protagonist, a young college educated black man who remains nameless, takes the reader on an extraordinary journey as he travels from the Deep South to Harlem with none other besides his briefcase and little hope. From the first chapter, you are instantly addicted to the character and how he got to be was he is. Through trail and tribulations, he is forced to confine in nearly strangers in order to survive in the city and live off of instinct, despite where that may lead him. Although the protagonist tries to live through honesty and trust, a much higher power seems dominate his thoughts, beliefs, and understanding of life itself. Above it all Invisible Man is about exploitation, manipulation, and the gross hypocrisy that exists in our society.

The novel creates a vivid and shocking picture of America's true society and subversion of individual identity. Soon after the book was published Ellison said that Invisible Man was not just about the black experience in America, it was an account of every person's "invisibility" in a world that tells us how to think of each other. Most everyone can relate in some way or another to Invisible Man and its complex works. The plot is more than simply race novel, but more so about coming of age in a world that is so much based upon society and what society influences us believe. Invisible Man is a must-read for anyone who thinks they have a grip on the American experience.

-Jasmine C