Book Review: The Kite Runner

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2003), 371 pp.
Reviewed by Carleen Rodriquez, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

The fictional novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini brings to the readers' attentions the effects of a strong friendship between two boys living in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1980's. The author uses great amounts of detail and descriptive diction in order to portray the characters' lives to the audience and create a greater general effect by appealing to the reader's senses by describing the surroundings and what life was like living in Kabul. Although the author finds inspiration in structures and figures that he remembers while growing up in Kabul, he doesn't describe the city and his experiences while living there directly through the two boys, but instead takes parts and puts a twist on them to make the setting more original. The two boys, Amir, a wealthy, upper-class kid growing up with his dad, and Hassan, one of their servants at home, grow up together and learn from each others ways. While living in a harsh town, where people are competitive with each other and friendships may be difficult to find, the city adds to the plot of the story by proving the importance of close bonds with friends in order to learn from life in Kabul; without friends, the area would be more dangerous to live. However, although much of Afghanistan is not as lucky to be as wealthy as Amir's father, the amount of money someone has plays an important role in a person's social status, as the lower class people tended to hold on to their morals and value of respect tighter. The novel is greatly influenced by the value of money and how much is able to get people the level of respect they desire, also the difference between the personalities of the wealthy compared to the lower socio-economic classes.

Although Hosseini seems to make the novel seem somewhat realistic as the boys grow up together in Afghanistan, there are some aspects of the story that seem to be hyperbolic or a little too extreme to be unbelievable. The problems in society, such as criminal activity and financial conflicts amongst the people seem truly believable, however, when the author sometimes over-exaggerates events like Amir's father having so much more money than the average citizen of Kabul, as he traveled in his fancy cars and often went out to see movies compared to lower social class workers, he is treated like a man with all the answers to their questions. Furthermore, the economic competition and the aggressive battles amongst the people do seem plausible because in society there always seems to be some form of competition occuring. The author completely relies on coincidence up to a part in the story when Amir, as an adult living in San Francisco, California, hears word about his childhood friend Hassan still living in Afghanistan, has a child that had been abducted by talibans. The author creates small coincidences throughout the plot to propel it forward, such as cutting the strings on kites, the way the two boys separate and meet up with each other in casual ways, and even the role played by the young, neighborhood bully, that seem to allow the story to move forward.

The diction and ironic situations the author, Khaled Hosseini, creates while Amir and Hassan go on their adventures throughout Kabul, propel the story forward and continues to increase the interest of the audience to a climatic point. The descriptive scenes and specific details that the author shares prove that the story is fiction, however, nonetheless, they do add to the story's plot and continue the escalating excitement to know how the novel concludes.

The Count of Monte Cristo

Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. (New York: Modern Library, 2002.)1462 pp.

Reviewed by Mark Twain, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA

This book, as one might assume from the title, is the story of the Count of Monte Cristo, following his story to just before the sequence of events that led to him becoming the Count to just after he made the decision to leave the Civilization that made him what he was. This, is the story of Edmond Dantes.

Dantes at onset was a man of remarkably amicable temperament, believing no one to be his enemy, and blessed with good fortune and skilled in the art of sailing, with enormous aptitude in other areas as his later characterization as the Count would show. However, despite his massive potential, he lacked certain wisdom that can be acquired only through experience, and the blow, when it fell, took him completely by surprise, his own naivete being his downfall. It was, ironically, his very good fortune that proved to be his undoing, as it prompted the jjealousies of his rivals in work and in love, who together conspired a plan to destroy him, framing Dantes as an imperialist by evidence of a letter he was asked to deliver by the Emperor from the Isle of Elba. The case became even more entangled when the magistrate, a royalist, discovered that the letter was addressed to his imperialist father, the discovery of which would ruin his career, and so Dantes was sentenced to imprisonment in the Chateau d'lf, where he meets the Abbe Faria, who provided to him the wisdom he lacked for want of experience, who sharpened his potential into acute ability. Faria, suffering from a mortal illness, bequeathed to him a glorious treasure passed down through generations of Italian nobles, and his death from the illness provided the chance for Dantes to make his escape, taking his friend's place in the body sack, and being carried out in place of the Abbe.

And now, after some decades reprive, during which his enemies were free to live and to prosper, Edmond Dantes returns, armed with his fortune and his knowledge gained from his exile from Civilization, for revenge.

Long Overdue Book Review

McKay, Claude, and Joan R. Sherman. Selected Poems. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1999. Print.

Reviewed by Toni Gott, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, Ca.

 

     The book of selected poems by Claude McKay as a whole tells the story of living in a prejudiced world. Claude McKay, a black man, endured many struggles, and conquered many downturns in life. The prevelent use of imagery, similes, mataphors, and select diction thouroughly succede in telling the story of a hard life, as well as motivating others through their struggles.

     McKay describes scenes, people, and situtaions in many of his poems. The use of key diction played an important role in pulling the reader into the time and place. The majority of the poems were set in the time of the "Harlem Shadows." This is key because it adds to the feeling of restlessness and struggle.

     The poems portray extreme plausability, for we know that in fact the black population went through a time of strugles. However they may be plausable, they also may be biased. This man had endured these hardships and therefore may display his resentment for the situation by exaggerating slightly.     

     Overall, the collection was remarkable, bringing me laughter, gasps, and tears. I recomend this book to anyone looking for inspirational poems, appicable to any life situation. 

 

 

 

 

Villain

Villain, antagonist, take your pick. In any case this character will always exist so long as intellectuals write; create; imagine. As delayed as this may be, I am typing about the villain in Ray Bradbury's creation, Fahrenheit 451, Beatty: leading officer in Guy Montag's Firemen division. If the concept of a villain is a man apart of an evil plot, then Beatty may not seem so bad of a person in the perspective of a John Doe in this world. His philosophy and personal experience with a multitude of "banned" books more than warrants his position on controversial novels in general -- that such books only suppress and depress the citizens of that city. In Bradbury's author's reflection of the novel, itself, Bradbury goes into depth the characterization of Beatty as far as his imagination would take him. Projecting Beatty and Montag as physical, individual persons, Bradbury imagines the two in Beatty's "library" where laid dormant the multitude written works. He visualized the two in a teacher to apprentice setting, where Beatty showed and justified himself for keeping such an illegal trove to a very awestruck Montag. This scenario, one that would take place before the novel, gives definition to the mysterious antagonist as only but a philosopher disguised as a fireman. Beatty's opinion is what defines the general image of the dystopian society that they exist in; that the so-called "awe-inspiring" works only hurt and bring down the Average Joe, in plain sight. This position that Beatty sets himself upon almost gives him a wise yet misguided character rather than that of a nefarious one.
However, because this is a dystopian novel, this philosopher is later on seen as the villain of Guy Montag as he merely follows orders to burn Montag's home for housing copies of the Christian Bible and a range of poems. At the moment of Beatty's death by Montag does our protagonist see that this wise man had a desire to die; had a longing for deliverance from the terrifying world that he mourns in. And it is after Montag's realization of this that we, the audience, see that Beatty was forced upon this entitlement of villain because of the popular opinion of intelligence was: a menace. A question comes to mind upon reflecting upon this character. Who really was the villain? Beatty or popularity?

Handprints, Not Footprints

After rummaging through a stack of my dad's old magazines, I stumbled upon a Time issue named "10 Ideas That Are Changing Your Life." I know this is irrelevant to any assignments we have done in class and on our own time, but this article sincerely inspired me to think, and considering that we have emphasized a reflection of our journey throughout these last four years of high school, I think this is very appropriate.

It's about this guy named Gregory Norris.  He developed this system "to conceptualize our [personal] impact" on the environment by evaluating and summing the positive impacts we have personally made on our precious habitat.  These are called handprints, clearly a pun on the environmental term footprint which sums the impact that humans have on the natural world, often the negative ones.  We usually analyze our impact in any situation in a "footprint" type of way, the ways in which we have forced an inconvenience or affliction upon a situation; seldom do we analyze the way we benefit something.  Norris wanted to do just that, however.  He believes that "While our footprints are a significant measure we've all been getting used to, they do not tell the whole story. We don't just trample the planet; we also sometimes leave a positive impression."  He includes a few interesting examples of ways to boost one's handprint: 1. Buying a plane ticket that pays for a carbon offset, planting trees in a deforested region 2. Inflating tires to the correct air pressure, thus increasing fuel efficiency 3. Advertising on Facebook about pledging and documenting one's positive, environmental actions, persuading others to join on this "Green Movement".  In fact, many of the things we do in our everyday actions accomplish these handprint tasks, yet many of us would think about incorporating it into our carbon footprint.

So at this point in the post, you are probably wondering why this is significant to us as we near graduation and look forward to college.  Well, we've been challenged many times in this class to reflect upon our journey throughout high school.  Personally, this article had a large impact on the way I now view my experience as a whole.  Instead of thinking about moments I would not be necessarily too proud of, such as poor grades on tests or unfortunate endings of relationships, I think about my achievements and the way I've positively contributed to the lives of those who are around me and those who look forward to graduation in the near future.  Whether it's encouragement through a pat on the back or advice through long conversations at Starbucks, I have made an impact on those around me. And, to be perfectly honest, I believe that my "handprint" on Los Osos High School nearly equates to my "footprint" on the school.  And furthermore, my impact is microscopic in the scope of the graduating class.  Everybody has their own unique handprint on their own environment, and I challenge all of us, as we soon divide and attend our own respective colleges, to not only analyze the burdens we have brought, but also to broaden our perspective to consider these positive impacts we make every single day.

-Christopher Lee

What I Read Mattered

                Little did I know, my sophomore year in Mrs. Salvadore’s Honors English class was that I was going to read a novel that I truly enjoyed, and the best part was that it counted for a grade. As a class, we were reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, and although at the time I had firmly believed that reading check quizzes were a tedious way of making sure the students were keeping up every week with the scheduled chapters, reading a novel that I thought interested me, had me liking the class and the topics we were discussing as a group a lot more.

Many students realize that sophomore year is usually a time when they are exhausted of testing and school work after the wide variety of standardized tests they take throughout the year. However, after reading Steinbeck’s novel, I came to realize that the school year may have seemed like it was passing by slowly, but conveniently, my curiosity in the history behind the story about the effects of capitalism, the 1920’s Great Depression in the United States and the significance of the Dustbowl in the mid-western states kept my interests alive. I became more aggressive with my reading habits while reading The Grapes of Wrath, eventually elevating my grade In Salvadore’s class and helped the weeks in the school year proceed a little faster. In order to pass the time when I wasn’t occupied with class work, I would take out the novel and read in my other classes as well. I became more willing to read for my English classes over the years, as well as more diligent and productive with my time, in hopes to read another novel that would peak my interests in a way that I wasn’t left bored with a grade that was slowly decreasing.

After reading Steinbeck’s novel, I found myself paying more attention to descriptive details and references in the way I write as well as in the styles of other authors. Steinbeck used a great deal of creative words that seemed to flow into long sentences and made even the more simple objects, such as a glass vase, a more intriguing piece of work to look at, rather than its conveniences acting as ordinary. Like any novel, The Grapes of Wrath did have its moments when the chapters were really moving at a slow pace, however that forced me to pay closer attention to the author’s diction and comparisons. If I knew Steinbeck personally, I would say he was quite the gentleman with a way of words. It was unexpected that I would have truly enjoyed reading this novel, because of its length and simple cover, but I suppose that’s why the saying goes, “never judge a book by its cover”.

Teacher and Student, A Little More Than Just Friends

As I have begun to read my next novel, Teach Me by R.A Nelson, a lot of thoughts have flown through my mind. The novel's protagonist Nina is a high school senior who is very mature for her age and is bored with her small towns boring everyday life. Nina is intelligent beyond her means and nothing seems to challenge her. That is until the new language arts teacher, Mr. Mann comes along. Mr. Mann and Nina end up in a twisted and risky relationship that could ruin both of their names and reputation among the small conservative Alabama town. As I continue to read, I am and have been hooked since the very first page. Even though Nina is already eighteen, it is still taboo that she is in a secret relationship with her teacher. Should students be allowed to be involved with teachers despite they are of legal age? When and where do professional ethics come into play and how much is too much between both teacher and their student?

-Jasmine C

My Declared Love for Harry Potter (the books, not the character)

What I Read that Mattered: Harry Potter
Please comment! I'd like to hear about your experiences of growing up with Harry.

                Harry Potter has always been an experience rather than just a series of books. I remember picking up The Sorcerer’s Stone as a 2^nd grader trying to understand everything it said. I remember being excited for the The Goblet of Fire  to be released and, eventually, The Deathly Hallows. I grew up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione and saw the physical evidence as Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson aged with me.

                Harry Potter has shown me how much power a book can have on you. Books can pull you from reality and into a different world. In Harry’s world, I was able to attend Hogwarts and see the beauty of magic. I fought alongside Harry as he fought Lord Voldemort. I laughed at Harry’s awkward moments with Cho Chang. I awed when Hermione and Ron finally declared for each other. I cried when Dumbledore died. I was shocked when the truth of Snape was revealed. I loved every second of it.

                What I also appreciate about Harry Potter is the movies. Of course, the books were better, but the movies also had a special place in my heart. The actors became icons of Harry Potter, people I will never forget. Harry Potter marathons on ABC Family were always my favorite. It was nice to turn on the TV during holidays and knows that I can always enjoy some Harry Potter at any time. Like the release of the books, the releasing of the movies were annual events that I looked forward to. 8 times I have sat in the theatre with my popcorn and icee squirming with excitement as the Warner Bros. logo finally popped up with the Harry Potter melody.

                The end of a series is always hard. It’s the goodbye that you knew would come, but shoved to the back of your mind because you thought you would have more time. I remember reading the final page of the last chapter of Deathly Hallows and feeling my heart stop. I turned the page and smiled as I saw just a few more paragraphs. It was an epilogue of Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione’s kids. It was a bit silly, but it made me realize how time has truly flown as the J.K. Rowling has written 7 treasures. Although I was sad, I was excited for the films and was relieved when the producers decided to split the last book into two parts, just because it would give me more time to say goodbye. When the movie of Deathly Hallows: Part II finally ended, I didn’t know how to react. How do you let go of something that you’ve grown up with? It’s different from losing a person, because we experience it all the time. But a series. It was a world, a different reality, that I had leave.

                It’s been a while since the movies and books have ceased and I’m doing fine. Sometimes I revisit Harry’s world for old-time’s sake, but realize that it’s just not the same as before. Since then, I have found other books and series that I also enjoy, even though none of them match up to Harry Potter. But life goes on and I am fortunate for growing up in a generation shaped by Harry Potter.

-Stephanie Kim

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