Final Exam Blog Post

I have learned and entered a new world of books coming into this elective. Most language art classes don’t focus much on the books and how they are viewed through the public. I have also gotten to open myself into thinking about how books could be considered “less valued” by the author not being literary. This is definitely not something have considered before and am willing to think about in the future. I have always been a math type of guy and business type too. As a future businessman (hopefully) I have not considered the book industry as much of a prosperous or complicated industry. I thought of it as a simple and traditional infrastructure based on simple supply and demand. This battle between writing styles has made me think that the book industry structure as more of a movie type industry. You have the money makers and the award movies. I have also seen my reading classmates in a whole new light, usually I read with my class grade and the same book; in this class I have seen older and the same aged people read a diverse selection of books. I feel as if this has changed my view on literature and will guide me through some of the more advanced classes in my future as a student. This opportunity and class time has also given me a well needed reading time since I can get easily distracted at school. Questions covered in this class like the discrimination of “chick lit” has also made me think why I find a slanted view of even since I haven’t read it.

Personally I have grown and developed myself as a reader. This class didn’t have a schedule and you could read how much whenever which was great for me. This forced me to motivate myself to read since I’m not much of a reader. I think it was good to carry on some of the responsibility as a reader. I have also this try some of the books I would have to put on hold since I am distracted with Romeo and Juliet or something. I have taken of my list some good titles like; Holes, 13 Reasons Why, The Lord of the Rings, and The Fault in Our Stars. I came into this class wanting to be more of a reader not only in just pumping out novels but also as someone who is in the literary world and is conscious of it. I usually never pick books on my own and just pick up the next biggest book. This trimester has been great for expanding to some of the books that I thought I would never be able to read. This class was also a different style of than other classes I have taken. As I said before it had a looser schedule and restrictions which made this the perfect class to end a great day on. The environment helped me get better associated with books and the way I view them. This trimester I haven’t viewed them as much of homework as I have for a leisure activity.  Best Sellers has changed me not only as a reader but a person too who has learned in an environment with different grade levels. I have met wonderful people who enjoy reading more than I do which was fun. I have also seen people who love genres that I don’t necessarily find interesting. The diversity of readers has made me see different book genres and how the people and books compare and unite under the book world. Overall I have progressed as a person and a reader, I think this was a great class to take as a freshman and would take it again if I had the chance. 

The Fellowship of The Ring

The Lord of Rings is considered a classic among many fantasy novels and may be the reason we find fantasy such a great genre in this generation. However, the little action, and constant description of the land is not what many readers want to read in a book consisting of magical powers, powerful rings, colossal trolls, and elves. The Lord of the Rings starts you off in a small town in The Shire. Bilbo Baggins is celebrating his eleventy-first birthday and is going out with a bang. He plans to leave his rather large house to Frodo and wants to journey eastward with his dwarf friend. Bilbo has limitless money from an adventure that other hobbits consider strange, and he is thought to be very eccentric. Bilbo is kind and gives his money away but people are always wary. When he has his extravagant party he brings all his best friends and relatives to the house and announces his departure. At the end of his speech Bilbo magically disappears into thin air and everyone thinks this is part of the party so no one cares that he is gone. Bilbo sneaks into his house and meets Gandalf, who was awaiting his return. Gandalf says his farewells but really wants to talk about the ring that Bilbo has. Gandalf wants Bilbo to give him the ring, because he thinks Bilbo is becoming too dependent on it. At first Bilbo doesn’t want to give it up but in the end he gives the rings to Frodo and leaves for Rivendell. 17 years later Frodo, living his mansion alone, gets a guest. It’s Gandalf, who tells Frodo the origin of the Ring and tells him to venture away from The Shire and go to Rivendell. When Frodo leaves, 3 hobbits and loyal friends, “If by my life or death I can protect you, I will,” (said by Aragorn) join his company to get Frodo to Rivendell. Then the company adventures far and wide to restore order in the Middle Earth. 

           When you pick up a book called The Lord of The Rings you imagine great battles and action but is not exactly what you get. You get some action scenes but they are normally two to three paragraphs tops. In place of the missing action you get amazing descriptions of lands beyond your wildest dreams, characters that you could almost touch, and objects you feel like you could hold. Tolkien the author has amazing adverbs and adjectives. Writing descriptively and detailed is one of his many strengths. “The night deepened. There came the soft sound of horses led with stealth along the lane. Outside the gate they stopped, and three black figures entered, like shades of night creeping across the ground. One went to the door, one to the corner of the house on either side, and there they stood, as still as the shadows of stones, while night went slowly on. The house and the quiet trees seemed to be waiting breathlessly.” He also is great and definitely dedicated to creating world in which a reader will feel a part of and can imagine every little hill and plain in all of Middle Earth. My last strength Tolkien puts in his books is an amazing plot and mystery behind the adventure of Frodo. You can see the history and understand why Frodo has to do what he asked of by Gandalf. You are told in not only the introduction but also in the book the corruption the ring can do and understand why Gandalf doesn't want handle the ring. One strength I felt that was used too much and cost Tolkien a perfect book was the over using descriptive language. Tolkien describes every pebble and weed along the journey which just drags on the book and puts the reader in a dead state. "At the top, as high as Gandalf could reach, was an arch of interlacing letters in an Elvish character. Below, though the threads were in places blurred or broken, the outline could be seen of an anvil and a hammer surmounted by a crown with seven stars. Beneath these again were two trees, each bearing crescent moons. More clearly than all else there shone forth in the middle of the door a single star with many rays." This also keeps Tolkien from writing action scenes because he spent 50 pages on the scenery. This seems to be one of the biggest and only weaknesses blatantly evident in The Lord of the Rings.

Finally, everything considered The Fellowship of the Ring is an A- for trying to be too descriptive. The plot and history in the book is just astonishing and can really be considered a new world in itself. Readers can see this when Gandalf tells Frodo about the Ring and how it was made by Sauron. The characters and their development are progressive, unique, and relatable. Frodo has a strong will but bends to Sauron's will because he is mightier. Tolkien doesn't make Frodo some superman. Frodo also loses lots of weight throughout his journey. History in this book really contributes and can be found in the actions and decisions of many the characters. Instead of going through the top of the hills because of the old ancient god who has killed many in the past they went to Moria.  The book feels as if it is a living thing and you are watching from above as you travel into Middle Earth. Overall the book made the reader involved and definitely imaging a vast world, in the end it is a great read. 

The One Genre to Rule them All

The activity of imagining things that can’t be real, using one’s imagination, also known as Fantasy and the genre I am reading. Harry Potter, A Wrinkle in Time, Eragon these are all books that have revolutionized the Fantasy genre. One series in particular though has put Fantasy on the map for the last 80 years, The Lord of the Rings. I am currently reading this series and it is the epitome of Fantasy books according to that definition. Tolkien has created a world unparalleled to any other; he has created elves, dwarfs, hobbits, and Magicians into a world that is masked with unnatural beauty and the innocence of people. The Lord of the Rings is purely imagination and is wielded by the reader in his/her own thoughts. This series has created a strong precedent for many to follow and will continue to have effect on Fantasy books for years to come, magic, worlds, creatures are made into reality and shown off with many features unimaginable like powerful rings that can mask and control anything.

A Slight Introduction to Fantasy

Fantasy is commonly placed into medieval setting but not restricted to that specific time. There are three primary genres and settings for Fantasy: Fantasy World (The Hobbit), Reality into Fantasy World (Alice in Wonderland), and Real World (Mary Poppins).  Of all the Fiction subgenres, Fantasy has the longest and richest history. This Fantasy history can be seen in The Epic of Gilgamesh and Homer’s Odyssey. These books were some of the first to reach world attention and for readers to marvel at as books that have influenced literature as a whole. Fantasy has been not taking seriously among Literary “experts” and therefore going into the field is mainly for money not for literary “art”. Fantasy has had many stereotypes that is has had to come over in the modern era, for instance the “geeky” factor in the genre itself. Luckily this genre has had lots of success, the first The Lord of the Rings has helped relieve this genre from this ‘”geeky” stereotype. Harry Potter has also helped this stereotype and many others. This series may not get the respect it deserves but has transformed and intrigued the readers for many years.

 

Sources

Genre Fiction As Literature

The Fantasy Genre

Fantasy- Wikipedia

 

Blizzard Bag 2

The book I chose for my Fantasy book club was The Fellowship of The Ring, it is by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book is split into two minor books of 280 pages each. I decided to do this book because I had seen the movies and The Hobbit came out this past year and wanted to give the books a try. If you don’t know what the Lord of The Rings Trilogy is about then I will give you a brief summary. In The Fellowship of the Book the main character Frodo is staying in his super rich Uncle’s house. His uncle Bilbo disappeared 61 years ago and came back with mass amounts of treasure which is what they were surviving on. They set you in a time where Bilbo’s and Frodo’s birthday party are coming up soon and will be the day that Bilbo will leave to go East permanently. Since Hobbits love parties everyone gets excited and Gandalf comes to wish Bilbo goodbye and talk about the secret powerful ring Bilbo has. When the party is about to close Bilbo talks about how he is to go away and in front of everyone’s eyes he disappears from thin air. Gandalf is waiting for Bilbo inside his home and they talk about this ring which has made Bilbo addicted to it. Gandalf scares Bilbo into giving the ring to his heir Frodo before he leaves forever. When Bilbo leaves Frodo is left with a ring and Gandalf tells him the danger of the powerful ring. My book then goes on to tell of Frodo’s journey trying to escape the evil powers and how he does this. I think the book isn’t bad but I don’t like how Tolkien narrates the story and makes it go on forever by describing everything they see to the last crack on it. The action in the book is quick and lame because Tolkien chews up all the time focusing on describing things instead of focusing on important things like plot and character development. I think this book could be better if he focused on more of the elements I find valuable in a book. Not to totally rip on Tolkien he uses amazing verbs and adjectives throughout the book.

Snow-Day Assignment

Reading this year has been better than last as I have read more enjoyably and more freely. When I read a book that I love it seems to be the only thing I want to do, however when I don’t like a book it feels like a chore; the only obstacle of me being a constant reader, finding a book that I enjoy. So how have I been finding books that I love this year, two words; my sister. My sister has been giving me great recommendations and I have been able to pump out lots of books this year. Of course I have been primarily reading fantasy books that usually have a quest of some kind but they always seem to intrigue me. When I find that next book I go straight into my room in the corner where I have my comfy beanbag and read non-stop. I also like to turn on Pandora and play it softly while I read so I can take breaks occasionally and have some fun. This year I have changed to be a more satisfied reader and one that has started to enjoy reading. In my previous years reading has always been a skyscraper of an obstacle but this year it has shrunken to more of a hurdle and get smaller with every book I have read. For the most part I need to be pushed a little to read and I will do it, when the school year starts that’s also when my reading starts and I completely forget reading during the summer. However this summer I think I can change that and will definitely change it. This year I value reading a lot more and am hoping to fit it more into my schedule. I am also expanding in my book genre trying to read more of history because I love history especially war generals. 

Where the Wild Things Are

Without being subjective in my view of the quality and appealing nature of the film I would say that this was a successful film. You can’t define success because it is subjective but I tried to look at the core of the movie and look at the numbers. The movie made over 100 million dollars internationally which is a lot more than tons of movies. Just looking at that it obviously appealed to a wide audience of both children and older people. You might say that the trailer might have intrigued people and it wasn't a good movie but a disappointing one that was anticipated. In actuality the movie only made around a third of that money from the starting weekend, so it had to have people talking right? According to Rotten Tomatoes its dark tone and slenderness was a heartfelt adaptation of the classic children’s book. The movie also received a 74 which topped Fast and Furious, Riddick, and Despicable Me 2. These were tough competitors to beat, especially Despicable Me 2 which has the same fan base and is a sequel to a highly successful first film.

Other than numbers the critics seemed to for the most part enjoy the film adaptation which was hard to bring to life. I think the major adversity to the film and its production was the gaps left by Sendak because his book wasn't meant for a film. Spike’s plot line had to make sure not to compromise the integrity of the film while chewing up time. I think that Spike’s ideas were great and served that purpose well. This was another success to me and was probably the main goal the team was trying to achieve. The CGI was amazing for a children’s film in which I thought was going to be a joke. I could barely tell that the film used CGI for the wild things. This was great considering the importance of the wild things and their effect on Max. Not to mention the landscape and backgrounds seemed to be so real. One thing however I did not like was the acting job done for Max. The actor seemed to be so fake and a came off to be whiny who actually never learned anything. This kind of dropped the ball but luckily it got saved by the performance of the wild things. The voice actors were what I was expecting when I read the book and I did enjoy them. So overall I felt that the acting was par because Max was such a major character.

Last but not least the soundtrack of the film I felt was correct and corresponded for the most part with the film. The soundtrack in my perspective was original and worked with the film instead of against which can be the downfall for some movies. With all these contributions the film was a very successful movie even if I thought the movie was boring and not in tune with my interest. I think the lack of action and only one character who is young was a real physical actor hurt the movie but that was the books fault. 

Blog Post 5

The Son of Neptune is one of my favorite books of all time. So far I would be disappointed if the made it into a movie because the other Percy Jackson movies have been nothing but horrendous. That being said, if they got a new director and a better cast I would want to see this amazing book into a movie. Since I would direct it I could make a lot of revisions that could turn this franchise around. The cast would have to be someone younger than Logan Lerman since he looks about 24 in the movie and he really would be 17. For HazeI would choose someone with some history like Emily Beckets who is an amazing actress, lastly I would use the guy who was Neville Longbottom because he is good at being awkward. For all of the other actors and actresses I would use people who don’t cost that much since I would like to use that money on the setting and the special effects. I would set this in actual Rome since a lot of it in there. For the actual adventure I would use California for the water since it is tamer than the Gulf and more predictable. The final place I would use as a set is Alaska, that’s right I said it, Alaska. Alaska is actually a place they visit in the real book and would be perfect for the last scene since it is cold but can be open and vast. I would stay true to the plot unlike the movies now because they are not better and just ruin the series. I would only change minor things here and now but for the most part it would be the same plot. I would also work on the chemistry of the actors before actually starting to film because that is what the other films lack. The things I would change is the ending so I can make it a better cliff hanger by showing Percy meet Annabeth and show their reactions then immediately stop the movie. I would also change the fact that Percy is in a smaller copycat of Rome and just change it to the real Rome. The main focus of the money would be on the actors and CGI because that’s what kids really only care about these days. This movie can become a great movie with all the complex parts in it and can be enjoyed if done right. One of the better parts is the fact that we are dealing with gods who have abilities that regular people don’t. If I could show people how amazing the powers and action scenes are I could get almost every preteen to teenager to show up for this movie. And since Frank and Hazel have a relationship I could milk that and try to involve more relationship parts to extend the audience to girls. This series has great potential and all it needs is some work to make it. My main goal would to try to turn it into a new Harry Potter series because it would be great for kids to experience a series like that all over again.