MYP5 English 10

I’ve recently started reading a Chinese novel that a friend of mine recommended to me. It’s called “Heaven Official’s Blessing” (天官賜福) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (莫想童秀). So far, I think it’s pretty good because it contains various elements of Chinese culture that turned out to be interesting. In this quotation, the ones talking are a simple cultivator and the crown prince after he defeated a powerful ghost that devoured whoever answered his questions incorrectly.

After the ghost vanished, the crown prince planted a flowering tree at the head of the bridge. As he did so, a cultivator passed by and happened to see him sprinkle a handful of dirt to consecrate the grave and send the ghost off.

“What is this?” he asked.

And thus, the crown prince replied with his now famous line:

“Body in the abyss, heart in paradise”. (pp. 15-16)

That final phrase was the line where the whole plot started. A few pages later, the crown prince ascends to heaven, becoming something similar to a god. But, due to his unconscious actions, he falls from the heavens and ends up in poverty, being a clear example that “the heart could not be in paradise if the body was in the abyss”.

The quote I chose is from my book (Twisted games) is “someone told me that we aways end up where we are meant to be”. Page 421

This quote referes to the two principal characters and how they are supposed to end up together.

Moments ago, Holden had called Mauricio to tell him that he needed a girl and asked about the costs, after having a dispute about the costs with the girl, the following ensued.

“Let’s have it, chief” He came right up to where I was standing. That’s all he could say. “Let’s have it, chief.” He was a real moron.
“No.”
“Chief, you’re gonna force me inna roughin’ ya up a little bit. I don’t wanna do it, but that’s the way it looks,” he said. “You owe us five bucks.”
“I don’t owe you five bucks,” I said. “If you rough me up, I’ll yell like hell. I’ll wake up everybody in the hotel.
The police and all.? My voice was shaking like a bastard.

After that Sunny went and grabbed Holden’s wallet and took the 5 dollars herself, making Holden get mad and started calling them crooks, making Mauricio mad and eventually leading to Mauricio hitting Holden in the stomach and him and Sunny walking out the door.

I have started reading the book ‘Alexander Hamilton’ by Ron Chernow. I have thoroughly enjoyed the small percent I have read so far because needed to read it multiple times to understand it. One quote that stood out to me did so because it used complex words while keeping the flow of the sentences.

——” Hamilton viewed the hurricane as a divine rebuke to human vanity and pomposity. In what sounded like a cross between a tragic soliloquy a a fire-and-brimstone sermon”——

This description refers to the deadly hurricane that plagued his childhood home. Alexander was tasked by encouragement of Knox to inform the colonies of the tragic news.  As weirdly different Chernow chooses to describe Alexander’s work “a cross between a tragic soliloquy and a fire-and-brimstone sermon” it is equally as accurate as it essentially represents the essense of the youthful writings of Alexander.

This quote is also from the book that I continue reading “One Italian Summer” and it is about a hobby that enjoy a lot, photography.

“There’s something about photography I love — a whole memory caught in a moment.”

(p. 108, Serle, R. One Italian summer. 2023)

I choose this quote because photography is one of my favorite things to do. I see photography as a way of capturing moments forever, because even though you don’t have a good memory, a photo can always be a way of remembering a specific person or memory. When I was younger I used to say that I wanted to be a photographer to capture the valuable memories of my life and that’s why I liked this quote so much.

When I was reading the book “star girl” I found this quote:

“You’ll know her more by your questions than by her answers.”

I choose this quote because I was very struck by the fact that you can know a person more by all the doubts they have than by the answers they have to give.

A book I recently read was written by a local author Polly Horvath. Her book “Very Rich” is an amazing fictional novel portraying the difference between a family that doesn’t have anything and a family that has too much. The protagonist is a boy named Rupert Brown who has many siblings and lives in a very small house in the poorest part of town. This story takes place in Steeleville Ohio at Christmas time where Rupert meets the Rivers family a very rich family that lives in a huge mansion in the super-rich part of town. after being launched over their fence he is introduced to each one of the Rivers family members. After he is introduced they invite him to Christmas dinner where Rupert joins in their family festivities and eats with the family.

“Nobody really wants the things they get in the Christmas crackers. But, you know, you have to put up with it because, well, its a part of Christmas, isn’t it? Doesn’t your family do Christmas crackers?”

“Rupert wanted to say, My family doesn’t even do food”.

For me this quote was the most significant part of the book showing the disparity between a family that has too much and a family that has too little. Very Rich was quite an enjoyable book it expanded my imagination to the limits and blew my socks off this book I would 100% recommend for anyone looking for an interesting read.

Holden, the boy who’s perspective of the Catcher in the Rye is written in is remembering a double date with his roommate Stradlater. Stradlater and his date are in the backseat of Stradlater’s coach’s car. Holden and his date are in the front seat. Holden is recounting the strategy that Stradlater uses on his dates.

His date kept saying, “No-please. Please don’t. Please.” But old Stradlater kept snowing her in this Abraham Lincoln, sincere voice, and finally there’d be this terrific silence in the back of the car.

I was confused as to weather Holden’s roommate is forcing this girl to do something. Thus far in the book there has been no mention of forced affection or anything of the sort. I may be incorrect but Holden does not seem very surprised by the ‘snowing’ of Stradlater’s date. It shows how normalized sexual assault and persuasion might be normalized in this time.

I was reading the book Drive your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead, which is a mystery story. In this quote the protagonist, Janina, discovers the dead body of her neighbour, which I found highly descriptive and delightful to read.

He was lying twisted in a bizarre position, with his hands to his neck, as if struggling to pull off a collar that was pinching him. Gradually I went closer, as if hypnotized. I saw his open eyes fixed on a point somewhere under the table. His dirty vest was ripped at the throat. It looked as if the body had turned on itself, lost the fight and been killed. It made me feel cold with Horror—the blood froze in my veins and I felt as if it had withdrawn deep inside my body.

This quotation shows how to build suspense and keep the reader engaged. It gradually gives more and more details about the situation to ensure that it remains mysterious. The use of metaphors and similes are also highly prominent in this quotation. “with his hands to his neck, as if struggling to pull off a collar that was pinching him.” “His dirty vest was ripped at the throat. It looked as if the body had turned on itself, lost the fight and been killed.” This quotation shows the importance of having a wide vocabulary as it keeps the reader hooked and it doesn’t get monotonous. Overall, I enjoyed reading this quote due to its thrilling nature, wide vocabulary and literary devices. It goes to show how important each little step is to make a text entertaining.

I’ve recently started reading the Odyssey by Homer, which focuses on a man named Odysseus and his journey home after fighting in the Trojan War. Meanwhile, his son, Telemachus, is having to host a number of suitors that are all fighting for his mother’s hand in marriage. But when he’s told by the goddess Athena that his father is still alive, Telemachus sets out to find him. She disguises herself as Mentes and says that:

“I avow  to be Mentes, son of wise Anchialus, and I bear rule among the Taphians, lovers of the oar. And now I come to shore, as thou seest, with ship and crew sailing over the wine-dark sea, unto men of strange speech, even to Temesa, in quest for copper and my cargo is shining iron.” (p.14)

I like this quote simply because of how beautifully it’s written. Each line is so descriptive and you can almost feel how the words would flow if someone was reciting this. In these two sentences so much information is conveyed in a way that isn’t overwhelming or confusing, and I find that really impressive.

I recently finished a book called The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan are the protagonists of this story. The Great Gatsby is set in 1925, New York City and recites Jay Gatsby’s desire to pursue Daisy. Nick Carraway narrates the novel, he depicts important events in the story in the first-person perspective. Nick Carraway is a young man who just returned from fighting in WW1 and came to New York City to Study the bond business. In this excerpt, Nick Carraway concludes the novel by reciting what happens to Gatsby and the ultimate feeling of what he has observed all this time. For example, this quotation,

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter — to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… . And one fine morning —— (P.138).

The novel concludes with these words from Nick Carraway and continues the theme of the struggle humans face trying to re-create the past. Nick Carraway uses metaphoric language here as the current in the water draws them backwards, they continue to attempt rowing forwards. As stated in the quote, “We will run faster, stretch out our arms farther” Gatsby cannot escape his past ambitions and his want to recreate his relationship with Daisy. Gatsby is basing his future on his past.

𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚎𝚖𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚋𝚢 𝚆.𝙱. 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚛. 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚡 𝚟𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚘𝚎𝚖𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚎𝚖𝚜 𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎, 𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 & 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑, 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜, 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙸𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚖𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚜. 𝙰 𝚙𝚘𝚎𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝙾 𝙳𝚘 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚃𝚘𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚗𝚐. 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚣𝚊, 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚠,

𝚂𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝, 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐:

𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐

𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚘𝚗

𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐.

 

𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑

𝙽𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚗

𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛’𝚜

𝚆𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎.

 

𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙾, 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍

𝙾 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐,

𝙾𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚘𝚗

𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐. (𝚙.𝟿𝟾)

𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚘𝚎𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝙸 𝚙𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚗𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖. 𝙰 𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚊 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍. 𝚂𝚒𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚐𝚒𝚊 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝, 𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚣𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚜’ 𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚗𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎. 𝙸𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚟𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍, 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚌 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚜, 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜.

I left off my previous book “Mort” and now finishing another one called “The Catcher in the Rye” about a 16-year-old boy Holden and two days of his life after he got expelled. The first thing that I found funny at the start of the book was that he talked about his school, not in a very good light.

“And underneath the guy on the horse’s picture, it always says “Since 1888 we have been molding boys into splendid clear-thinking young men.” They don’t do any damn more molding at Pencey than they do at any other school.” (p. 4. J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye)

“There were never many girls at all at the football games. Only seniors were allowed to bring girls with them. It was a terrible school no matter how you look at it.” (p.5. J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye)

The thought of that people from his school would read this book and find a small part about them here made me smile.

I decided to write my next IRJE about another quote from Sense & Sensibility that connects with the first one rather comically. This quote takes place some time later after Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters have left Norland Park, where they had lived for many years. After their friend Edward mentions it, Marianne and Elinor have this exchange:

“And how does dear, dear Norland look?” cried Marianne.

“Dear, dear Norland,” said Elinor, “probably looks the much as it always does at this time of year – the woods and walks thickly covered with dead leaves.”

“Oh!” cried Marianne, “with what transporting sensations have I formerly seen them fall! How have I delighted, as I walked, to see them driven in showers about me by the wind! What feelings have they, the season, the air altogether inspired! Now there is no one to regard them. They are seen only as a nuisance, swept hastily off, and driven as much as possible from the sight.”

“It is not everyone,” said Elinor, “who has your passion for dead leaves.” (pp. 52-53)

I chose this quote because I found it very funny after reading it, but also because it shows the difference in character of the two sisters. Marianne is much more ardent and sentimental, which can be seen in the way that she describes her old home with such nostalgia in this and the first quote, while Elinor is less emotional and more withdrawn. This is an important part of the story, as (slight spoilers!) Marianne ends up having troubles with her emotions after suffering a disappointment, and Elinor, after going through something similar, instead hides her pain and acts as if nothing had happened.

As I approached the end of the book I’m currently reading, The Inheritance Games, I went back a few pages to look for a quote that  described me a bit.

“It wasn’t my best look, but I’d gone to school with the same kids my whole life. I was wallpaper. No one was looking.” pg. 10

This quote is basically saying that the main character, Avery Grambs, always seemed to be invisible. No one paid her any mind while she was in school. That is how I feel sometimes even though it may not be true.

The book I am currently reading is the detective fiction, Mrs. McGinty’s Death written by Agatha Christie. The book relays the story of a murder convict who is believed to be innocent by well-renounced detective Hercule Poirot. The convict’s immediate acceptance of his fate doesn’t reside well with Poirot, encouraging him to explore the alternate circumstances and uncover the reality of the murder. The following quote is shared between Poirot and a superintendent assisting him on the case.

This quote reveals the peculiar reality of perception. Although the same movement, event, or even object is presented to us, everyone will conjure diverse thoughts and responses. Our brain fills in the absence of context or information provided based on our past experiences, emotions, and identities. Our brain may unconsciously alter our perception to correspond with our desires and expectations. We subconsciously choose different aspects of a message, compared to one another, our attention focusing on what we distinguish as important or familiar. In reference to this particular plot, Poirot is explaining that to properly assess all aspects of crime and unknown circumstances, various people must be involved to account for a variety and perspectives and experiences.

In Khaled Hosseini THE KITE RUNNER, the protagonist explains us that for all of Kabul, Kite-fighting was the highlight of the winters.

“Every winter, districts in Kabul held a kite-fighting tournament. And if you were a boy living in Kabul, the day of the tournament was undeniably the highlight of the cold season. I never slept the night before the tournament. I’d roll from side to side, make shadow animals on the wall, even sit on the balcony in the dark, a blanket wrapped around me. I felt like a soldier trying to sleep in the trenches the night before a major battle. And that wasn’t so far off. In Kabul, fighting kites was a little like going to war.” ( p. 52)

I like this quat because it let my thing of when I was a child, and the next day was my birthday, and I couldn’t sleep because I was so excited.

“People think that intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth. When you realize you can tell someone your truth, when you can show yourself to them, when you stand in front of them bare and their response is ‘you’re safe with me’- that’s intimacy.”
― Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

As I continued to read the book Daisy Jones the Six I saw this quote that was shocking for me and left me thinking

“Men often think they deserve a sticker for treating women like people.”

This quote left me thinking because this book talks so much about how people used to treat Daisy when she was only 15 years old, and how they only wanted to use her, so when I saw this quote I started to think; are there any men left who treat woman the way they deserve to be treated.? Because many times men pretend to treat us the right way until we are fully in love, and then they start treating us bad. So it’s hard for them to treat a woman the way they deserve to be treated, or even treat us like people.

So there are mens who think that they should receive a reward or be congratulated because of the way they treat a woman.

As I have continued the book ISHMAEL I found I quote said from Ishmael that I really like and it helps me get a correct mind for studying, working and everything that I do in my life.

“If you want to understand the habit of bees, you study bees, you don’t study mountain buildings. p.102

“None of us would dream of asking him to lend a hand.”

“Aggression, physical or verbal, makes people walk on eggshells, makes them close in on themselves in order to avoid exposure. I know this very well from my own family.” (p. 266)

Understanding the impact of aggression in Ulf Kvensler’s “The Couples Trip”. Anna, the main character talks about how she has been several times in an aggressive relationship. The first and most important one with her dad.

The author makes you comprehend what Anna feels in her situation. Anna talks about how she was always feeling embarrassed and guilty for not stepping up to defend herself. She talks about how she always wanted to go far away from her house. It is quite comic how she goes back to a similar aggressive situations but with a different guy.

The quote that I choose to put in my IRJE, made an impact on me while reading the book. I am absolutely grateful that I do not empathize with her. At the beginning I could not even read it, the chapter made me mad. How can she didn’t stand up for herself?  However reading more about her life made me appreciate more my life. The book changed not only the way I think about  Anna’s  situation how she  might think and  feel, but also other people that have been victims of aggression in the world.

Over the weekend, I started a book called Book Lovers by Emily Henry. The book is about 2 strangers Nora and Charlie. It is a rom-com book so it would be quite interesting. The quote from the book I’m picking is something Nora is describing.

The city is baking. The asphalt sizzles. The trash on the sidewalk reeks. The families we pass carry ice pops that shrink with every step, melting down their fingers. Sunlight glances off buildings like a laser-based security system in an out-of-fate heist movie, and I feel like a glazed donut that’s been left out in the heat for four days.  (p. 15).

I love this quote since Nora is just telling the reader how she felt when it was summer time. When she said “The asphalt sizzles.” It is just a metaphor that the weather is so hot it is like the asphalt is sizzling.

Months ago I read a book about leadership from Alex Ferguson’s point of view. The book it’s mostly about how Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United soccer team with his leadership. The book has a lot of important quotes for me about leadership, like for example.

Nobody can be a leader if these people feel that they do not have guaranteed permanence in their position. (p.189).

This quote is told in soccer terms, but if you think about it is true because I don’t think that anyone could be a leader if they have a lot of pressure all the time, like since the beginning to the end of the time that they would last as leaders. Also because nowadays a lot of people is afraid of being a leader because of the pressure that a leader carries. Like I know that a leader will always have pressure but what the quote is telling us is that no one can be a leader with so much pressure, like no human being will bear it.

In the book I am currently reading called Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The son of Rashid called Haroun lived in a country called Alifbay. Alifbay was a country of sadness where all of its inhabitants were something of a sorrow crowd, where the cities were towered with soaring sadness factories. In this country of sadness the was a story teller Rashid Khalifa who was loved by all the country. He would rattle on story after story to the people. His wife Soraya was a sweet woman and used to sing and hum to her hearts content however one day her song disappeared. Rashid: who was to enveloped in his stories didn’t pay much attention to Soraya’s lack of song.

“Then something went wrong. (Maybe the sadness of the city finally crept in through their windows.)                                                                                                                  The day Soraya stopped singing, in the middle of a line, as if someone had thrown a switch, Haroun guessed there was trouble brewing. But he never suspected how much.

Rashid Khalifa was so busy making up and telling stories that he didn’t notice that Soraya no longer sang; which probably made things worse. But then Rashid was a busy man, in constant demand, he was the Ocean of Notions, the famous Shah of Blah.” (pg. 15 – 16)

This quote shows how even in the happiest household in the country became infected with sorrow. As well as this, the quote serves an example of overshadowing the future events when Haroun told the reader that: he never expected how much trouble was brewing. This could infer that in future chapters there will be much more at sake than Soraya’s singing. As well as this the quote talks about how even Rashid Khalifa could be so busy as to overlook his own wife’s happiness. This also connects to when Soraya becomes to feel neglected later in the book, and leaves Rashid Khalifa for Sengupta who- in her words – has no imagination.

The book that I’m currently reading is You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao. This book has many quotes that I represent myself in and it makes me relate to the main character Julie, Julie is a young teenage girl who is passing through many problems in her life making question herself about the reality.

″You end up missing the little things, the moments you don’t think matter- but they do. Moments that make you forget about everything else.”

This quote really impacted me in someway because I related to it. When I was in Mexico I thought I wouldn’t miss the little details like going for ice cream with my family or even watching a movie with some friends. Once Ive been in Canada I noticed that I do miss does little details even if they don’t have anything important, when I get stressed I just remember does small intercations and forget all about my actual problems, just like Julie, she remembers details she had with her partner before he died and how does memories she thought weren’t important are now the reason why she is happy.

The book that I am currently reading is titled Lady Smoke, by Laura Sebastian. It is the second book in the trilogy and follows a fantasy plot with political intrigue, romance, and adventure. One of the many quotes in this book that stuck out to me the most was found in a scene where the main character, a young woman vying to reunite her country and take back her throne, spoke with another woman about their struggles. The quote is found on page 233, and is described as the following:

“As women, we must have our weapons in this world, whether they’re our minds or our fists or our wiles or our tears.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

This, specifically in the past tense setting of the book, gave me further insight into what the world was like for women in particular. Despite being a fantastical writing piece, Sebastian still manages to include relevance to reality within the pages while also adding a deeper layer of personality to the characters and their efforts. As a woman myself, this provided me with an opportunity to not only read of the characters but also place myself in the character’s situation. Ultimately, this quote added many important aspects and layers, overall enhancing the story.

On page 23 of the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist Holden Caufield, describes how he interpreted an interaction he had with his “friend”, Stradlater.

” ‘Hi’, he said. He always said it like he was terrifically bored or terrifically tiered. He didn’t want you to think he was trying to visit you or anything. He wanted you to think he’d come in by mistake, for God’s sake.”

I have chosen this excerpt because of the realizations I made about the character while reading it. A formulation of ideas about Holden’s character have dawned on me at this point. The first is that he is someone who has a heightened awareness regarding his surroundings. He calculates and judges every little detail of the actions of the people around him. He is constantly making conclusions for why people act the way they do, and these conclusions are mostly negative. Holden Caulfield is an overthinker. He even goes as far as making justifications up. In order to give himself an explanation for why people did things he does not agree with. It is near impossible for Holden to think, ‘he simply said ‘hi” because he wanted to say hi’, because there must be a reason.

The last thing I realized about Holden is that he doesn’t really like people. I do not relate to the character in this way, but I understand why he does not prefer to be around people, sometimes. While reading, one can see that he always has something to say about someone. There is always something he doesn’t agree with or thinks is annoying. Knowing this, I must read this book with the understanding that it might not be the other characters that are irritating and arrogant, but instead it is Holden’s interpretation of the other characters that makes them appear this way.