Final Exam Post

 

Gruen moved to the United States from Canada in 1999 for a technical writing job. When she got laid off two years later, she decided that she would give writing fiction a try. As a devoted animal lover, Gruen’s first novel, Riding Lessons, “explores the intimate and often healing spaces between people and animals and was a USA Today bestseller”(saragruen). Gruen’s second novel, Flying Changes, is also about animals, horses more specifically. Gruen’s most recent novel, Ape House, features the Bonobo Ape. Gruen has had a life-long fascination with the human-ape discourse, taking a special interest in the Bonobo Ape. “Ape House is a riveting, funny, compassionate, and, finally, deeply moving new novel that secures Sara Gruen’s place as a master storyteller who allows us to see ourselves as we never have before” (saragruen).

Sara Gruen’s awards include the 2007 Book Sense Book of the Year Award, the Cosmo Fun Fearless Fiction Award, the Bookbrowse Diamond Award for Most Popular Book, the Friends of American Literature Adult Fiction Award and the ALA/Alex Award 2007.

Sara Gruen’s novel, Water for Elephants became an instant hit and one of “the most beloved bestselling novels of our time” (saragruen). Readers fell in love with Jacob, a young man tossed onto a rickety train in the middle of the night after running out of his final exams, and Rosie, an elephant that can’t be trained.

The plot of Water for Elephants is very intriguing. You get a look into the life that circus workers live and the troubles they had to face on their long journeys from town to town. It was interesting to see who sticks up for whom when the going gets rough and who has who’s back when they really need it. Of all the characters, Jacob is the strongest because he sticks up for what he wants and he helps those who need helping. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to you tell me that it's okay for August to hit her because she's his wife. Or that it's not his fault because he's insane. If he's insane, that's all the more reason she should stay away" (164). When August started hitting Marlena, he wasn’t going to stand by and let that happen and that was the turning point in the novel for Jacob’s character where he finally manned up and stood up for the woman he loved.

The major theme of this book is love. It’s a love story between Jacob and Marlena. “My heart pounds so hard that, despite the roaring of the crowd, I am aware of blood whooshing through my ears. I am filled to overflowing, bursting with love” (105). When Marlena finally shows her act with Rosie to the crowd, Jacob finally realizes then and there that he is madly in love with her. The love story isn’t just between humans though. Jacob falls in love with the animals that he has cared for day in and day out for such a long time. It's impossible to describe how tenderly I suddenly feel toward them – hyenas, camels, and all. “Even the polar bear, who sits on his backside chewing his four-inch claws with his four-inch teeth. A love for these animals wells up in me suddenly, a flash flood, and there it is, solid as an obelisk and viscous as water” (97). When Jacob realizes that he has nothing in his life any more – no family, no friends, no woman to love, he feels an overwhelming rush of love for the animals that he has grown to know so well.

This novel is a great love story combined with tragic, mysterious plot twists that you wouldn’t see coming. Water for Elephants was very well written with descriptive detail and such bursting emotions that you can feel them seeping out of the pages you hold in your hand.

 

Post #5

For a book to be considered non-fiction, it has to be mostly true. For me, that means anything less than 90% and you’re a liar and I can’t trust you. I feel that 90% is a good number because if you want to be taken seriously as a writer, then you should be honest. Especially if you are going to write a book about something historical, you shouldn’t be faking those facts because people are going to find out and then your reputation as a writer is going to suffer and then you are going to be poor.

For the matter on half-truths, I think if they are innocent half-truths and no one gets hurt in the process, or there isn’t a moral dilemma, then I think it is okay to tell them. I don’t think it was ok than Frey and Mortenson bent the truth because a lot of people got hurt in the process of their lies such as Oprah and all of the people that donated money to Mortenson’s charity.

We don’t need lines between genres. I don’t have a certain genre that I prefer over another. Having genres means that only certain people will read your books if you’re an author in that category, which means that you are only making so much money. So if we take out the lines of genres, then authors will sell more books to more readers and make more money. If we get rid of the lines of genres, it will also get rid of being stuck to reading certain genres. So when people like me get asked “What kind of books do you like to read?”, or “What’s your favorite genre?”, it’s not such a hard question to answer any more.

Post #4 - Adapting The Help

 

Some specific challenges a filmmaker might have in adapting the movie from the book would be the setting and the time frame in which the book is set. The book is so specific in its details of Jackson, Mississippi and the way African-Americans were treated. A film maker would have to be pretty spot on with those details or else the movie wouldn’t make sense because that is the whole idea of the book – how African-Americans were treated during the 60’s, especially the African-American maids working as the help to white women.

The first scene that is essential to the book that a film maker would have to keep is the scene where all the women are at Elizabeth Leefolt’s house playing bridge and Hilly Holbrook uses the guest bathroom and comes out telling Elizabeth that she really should put a bathroom outside for Aibileen. An important quote for this scene that is key to the book that would need to be in the movie is; “ ‘That’s exactly why I’ve designed the Home Help Sanitation Initiative,’ Miss Hilly say. ‘As a disease-preventative measure … A bill that requires every white home to have a separate bathroom for the colored help. I’ve even notified the surgeon general of Mississippi to see if he’ll endorse the idea’ ” (10). This is an important scene because this is the part in the story that comes up a lot throughout the book and is the reason for the stories Skeeter wants to right.

Another scene that would be important to keep for the movie would be the scene where Minny goes to work for Celia Foote. An important quote to go with this scene is; “I sit in the sagging seat of the Ford Leroy’s still paying his boss twelve dollars every week for. Relief hits me. I have finally gotten myself a job. I don’t have to move to the North Pole. Won’t Santy Claus be disappointed” (45). This is important because Minny’s previous employer went to an old folk’s home and her daughter, Hilly Holbrook, accused Minny of stealing the silver and told everyone in town making it virtually impossible for her to find work anywhere else. Celia lives way out in the country and isn’t friends with any of the other girls so she doesn’t know anything that Hilly has been spreading around town about Minny.

A third scene that would be important to keep is when Aibileen decides that she will do the interviews with Skeeter. An important quote for this scene is; “[Aibileen’s] quite a second and then she blurts it out. ‘What if – what if you don’t like what I got to say? I mean, about white peoples’ […] ‘Law have mercy. I reckon I’m on do it’ ” (142). This is important because this is the part in the book where Minny decides that she’s had enough and she wants her stories to be heard. She wants things in Jackson, Mississippi to change. She doesn’t know if her stories will make a huge impact but her stories need to be heard.

One part that should be cut from the script is Elizabeth Leefolt spanking her child, Mae Mobley, for trying to use Aibileen’s bathroom. When Elizabeth say’s “ ‘I did not raise you to use the colored bathroom!’ I hear her hiss-whispering, thinking I can’t hear, and I think, Lady, you didn’t raise your child at all.’ ‘This is dirty out here, Mae Mobley. You’ll catch diseases! No no no!’ And I hear her pop her again and again on her bare legs” (111). This part in the book is extremely controversial, even though the whole book is basically about racism, I think this part takes it a little too far with Elizabeth coming right out and telling Mae Mobley, whom she didn’t raise at all, Minny did, that she will get diseases from using Aibileen’s bathroom.

Another scene that could be cut is the  scene where Skeeter is standing out by her car after her miserable date with the senator’s son. “He turns and focuses on me for what, I’m pretty sure, is the first time all night. After several long moments of standing there being looked at, my eyes fill with tears. I’m just so tired” (141). While this scene is important for the later scene where the senator’s son comes back to see Skeeter a few months later to apologize and they start dating, I think this scene where they go on the double date with William and Hilly is just drawn out and excruciatingly awkward.

Post #3 - Book 1 Project

Have you read Thirteen Reasons Why? Did you absolutely love it? Do you want to further your experience and get inside Hannah’s head a little bit more? Then do I have the ultimate fan experience for you! I have created a board game that takes you along the journey that Clay Jensen went on while he was listening to Hannah’s tapes. This board game will transport its players into Hannah’s world and ultimately further the fan’s experience. My idea for this game came from within the book. Hannah slipped a map into the possession of each of the 13 people on her list. The map takes the listeners through the town to important places where each individual event occurred to make Hannah’s decision easier as each event unraveled. The board of the game will have specific scenario spots where you draw a card and it explains what happened to Hannah. These cards, for example, could say; Hannah gets her first kiss! And it’s with Justin Foley! What could be better? Oh, maybe that it’s on the rocket ship that she wanted it to be on! Collect 13 Encouragement Cards! This card is based on the quote; “[s]o thank you, Justin. Sincerely. My very first kiss was wonderful. And for the month or so that we lasted, and everywhere that we went, the kisses were wonderful. You were wonderful” (30). Based on the scenario you either gain or lose encouragement cards. The encouragement cards have encouraging quotes from the book such as; “in my dreams, my first kiss took place at the rocket ship. It reminded me of innocence. And I wanted my first kiss to be just that. Innocent” (25).  This game is a great game for fans of this book. It is based off the idea of the map that Hannah gave out to the 13 people on her list. This makes it great because players get to experience what Clay experienced when he went from spot to spot on the map.

Here’s how you play.

Each player starts out with 13 Encouragement Cards. Each player rolls the die and lands on a space. If you land on a red space, you take a Scenario Card.

Ex. Your roll a 3 and land on the red square that says “Justin Foley Take 1 Scenario Card”. You do just that.

Let’s say your Scenario Card says this; “Justin is on Hannah’s list again because not only did he let her first kiss turn into something more (that didn't actually happen), but he let Bryce Walker rape Jessica Davis. And Hannah had to watch the whole thing from the closet she escaped to after her and Clay kissed. Lose 10 Encouragement Cards.”

This card is based on the part in the story when Hannah is at the party after Clay leaves. “Justin, baby, I’m not blaming you entirely. We’re in this one together. We both could have stopped it. Either one of us. We could have saved her. And I’m admitting this to you. To all of you. That girl had two chances. And both of us let her down” (229). So you can see why you would lose your 10 Encouragement Cards after that one.

So, after you take 10 Encouragement Cards out of your Paper Bag of Encouragement and place them back in the pile, the next person takes their turn.

The game continues until you reach the finish square. In this game, there are no real winners because all of these things happened and caused Hannah to kill herself. In the end, nobody won.

Post 2: What is a Book?

 

A book is a portal to another world. When I read books I get transported to different worlds created through the words on the pages. A book is almost like a time machine. You can step into a time machine and turn back the time and go back to that world that is different from the world we live in today. You can also turn forward the time and go to a futuristic world. All of these ways let you escape from the world you live in today and you can forget your troubles and just relax. In the excerpts we read from the book The Late American Novel: Writers on the Future of Books, I agreed with a piece from each excerpt we read. From Tom Pizza interviews Tom Piazza, he mentions “[y]ou make a world.” This just further solidifies my argument previously stated that you create a whole new world by reading books. From “A Book is a Place” by Joe Meno, he was basically saying that any technology that you use to read a book is fine, it’s not the way that we read, it’s the story that we are reading that matters. I agree with this because I don’t think it necessarily matters how we read a book or a story, it’s the fact that we are reading a book or a story that really counts. As long as we are reading, the story is still being told and that world is still being explored. In “Home Word Bound” by Nancy Jo Sales, she says “[t]here’s something about the physicality of a book, the way it looks and feels and even smells … that makes it a living, breathing companion.” This is a comparison between physical books and the technology we can use to read books. The fact that there is a legitimate book that you are holding that makes the story more real. Personally I like actual, physical books better than I do books that are on a kindle or an iPad because I like the fact that you can hold it in your hands and physically flip the pages and even smell the book. Yes, I love the smell of newly printed books, or even older books that I buy at half-price books. I can’t explain why I love that smell, I just do. At the same time, I have no problem with books that are on the kindle or on an iPad. It’s really up to the person that’s reading. I don’t mind the technology because it’s faster to download books and have them right there with you. You can have thousands of books on your technology’s bookshelf, which is a lot easier and more convenient than carrying a thousand physical books because that would get heavy and less convenient.

Post #1 - Why Do I Read?

 

I read because I find it fun. I like to be able to sit down and open a book and transport myself to another world. It's fascinating to be able to turn into a different character and live their life. This gives me the chance to escape from my own life and almost live someone else’s life for a little while. I also read for the pure enjoyment of literature. I find it wonderful to read other people writing and discover how they can tell a story in their own way. This gives me the chance to explore other types of writing. I like reading books because of the plot that the story tells. I like reading books that take you through a different world that isn't totally possible in real life. Basically, I read for pleasure. I find reading fun and something that everyone should do because it sharpens your mind and it teaches you valuable lessons. Reading can also teach you a lot of things about your own life that you didn’t know about. Reading is also a good way to pass the time or help you fall asleep. If you have some time to spare, then you can open a book and before you know it, you can’t put the book down and two hours have passed. On the other hand, if you can’t fall asleep and there is nothing good on T.V., reading is a great way to help you fall asleep.